Am I Alone?

Am I the only one in the knitting world who hates knitting the Log Cabin blanket pattern? Because everyone else seems to love it, by the looks of the projects pages on Ravelry. Heretical thoughts, I know.

I started one:

Knitted merrily along for a bit, then somehow lost my mojo. Don't know if the colors irk me or I dislike the start-stops with picking up stitches in-between. This one is in time-out until I figure out what I want to do about it.

Now, oldest niece is expecting in late summer so another baby blanket is in order. In case I can't bear to finish the Log Cabin, I began one of my own design:

This one's a cinch. I casted on 5 stitches (yarn is Pisgah Peaches and Crème Worsted 100% cotton), then knitted 1 row. With yarn in front, I slipped the 1st stitch purlwise, then knitted front and back in the next stitch to increase one, then knitted the rest of the row. I repeated the increase row, always slipping the 1st stitch (to get that nice chained selvedge) until I reached 50 stitches: time to change yarns. I'll keep increasing until 160 or so stitches, then decide if I'm making it square or rectangular, changing colors at intervals.

The beauty and fun of this blanket lies in combining the colors. The knitting is mindless and portable, and makes a nice break from lace knitting. Will it be a square or a rectangle? Have yet to decide.

How about you? Do you ever try to puzzle out why some patterns flow for you while others languish? Do you try to overcome your hurdles?