Challenge "game"

My Thursday patchwork group has done a couple of "games".  One year we did a mini-Round Robin (but it took over two years for all of us to get our quilts back).  And a couple of years ago we each chose a block and had our friends make a certain number each month.  I think only Mrs. Ochiai has finished that game.  (I still have to quilt my flimsy.)

As long as the 7 or 8 of us are going to get together monthly with the main purpose being making a bed size quilt for the kindergarten, I think a "game" where we work on similar things or cooperate to make something personal is a good way to promote friendship.  This summer while in the States and when looking at the pretty, whimsical fabric that is so hard to get in Japan, I decided to hand out a "challenge" to my friends.

I bought a few yards of Christmas fabric.  Not red and green.  Not religious.  Something fun and wintry.  I thought this was adorable and very outside my friends' normal fabric choice.  (That's what makes it a challenge!)  I passed out a half-yard to everyone last patchwork day and gave instructions that anything could be done with the fabric.  It could be cut up and pieced, or used in applique, it could be an accent fabric to something more striking, or it could be a whole cloth fabric with other blocks/pieces added.  Coasters could be made, or bags, Christmas decorations or wall quilts (or a lot of other fabric could be added to make a bed quilt!)  But whatever we made, it had to be a secret until December!

When it came right down to it, I looked at my half-yard and had no idea what to do.  Hmm.  Maybe I've given my friends a headache, not a challenge...  As the instigator of this challenge I really felt I needed to have made some progress by this coming Thursday (not something to show, just to be able to say "I've started!")  After checking Internet images of Christmas quilts, I've come up with an idea...  Not original but something I've admired and thought about making.

Last night I cut out circles...  Can you guess what I'm going to make?

I wonder if any of my friends have started thinking about this "game" or if I'm going to be a solo-player...