Loads of color surround the daisy

I'm back after a long break. The spring and summer have been busy months with travel, work and family. I've also been working on a steady flow of custom blankets, so unfortunately this blog has been a casualty.

One of the newest orders is for a baby afghan to match a shower invite. My customer liked the daisy pattern, but was looking for colors similar to the image below:

So I came up with this square:

I still need to ask if she would like it bordered in white or just purple. Maybe even a darker purple? What do you think? 

I'm really looking forward to seeing all of the squares together. I'll be sure to post a photo when I'm finished. I hope you've been having a wonderful summer!

Daisies and mermaids

I'm almost finished with my first daisies on purple afghan for my Etsy customer, Angela. I really like how the purples make the daisy pop. Two more rows of squares and then onto the edging...

(I used Caron One Pound lilac, lavender blue, jonquil, white and off white)

If you are new to the site, you can find the daisy pattern here.

My daughter, Tillie, said she would like to be a "princess mermaid" for Halloween. I had never done the "crocodile" stitch before, but I knew that I had to use it for her mermaid tail. I've decided to make a straight skirt with some kind of pleated fin (so she can walk!) I'm still working on mastering this stitch - so I'll figure out the fin when I get there...

I found this pattern at Bernat.com. You must sign up to gain access, but they have some really lovely free patterns at their site. The Mermaid Tears Purse was the exact size I needed for Tillie's skirt, so I did not need to figure out how to alter the pattern before beginning. 

By the way, this is a fun stitch to do. The only difficult part is manipulating your work for the first "5dc down..." It's such a great scaly looking pattern though!

Another daisy blanket inspiration

A very nice customer named Leslie recently contacted me about creating a new daisy blanket in aqua/turquoise. She sent a photo of some lovely bedding, and was hoping to use that as a reference.

I sent over two samples (the photos are a bit dark). One using a light aqua and dark aqua:

And one with a green sc row as an accent:

She chose the second option. I'm excited to see how it turns out when they are all together. Other good news: the weekend is almost here! Have a wonderful day.

UPDATE: I have one more option. There seems to be so much blue, I thought I would try an option with a light blue and the green/aqua...

I think I like this one best with her bedding. We'll see what Leslie thinks!

A great book

Many people have asked about the pattern for the blanket below, and I just finished up a new one, so I thought I would dedicate a post to it. The pattern can be found in the book  "Beyond the Square: Crochet Motifs". 

It's a great book full of fun and unique squares and motifs. They also use amazing colors in the photos. The background of my square is slightly different as I used a simple granny square (3dc ch2 3 dc (corner) then 3dc in each space around). That's the only difference. I highly recommend the book. 

I took a few photos of the my latest, finished blanket. I also took a photo of the back in case anyone was interested in seeing what that looks like.

Have a relaxing Labor Day!

New daisy blanket

I've been quite busy with a steady stream of custom blankets over at tillie tulip. One request came in for a daisy afghan using purples, so here is the latest in the daisy granny square saga...

I hope my customer likes it!

Very grey and rainy around here today, but the precipitation is a refreshing change. Have a wonderful week!

New pink daisy blanket almost complete...

I'm almost finished with Lynette's pink daisy afghan. I really like how it's turning out. Hopefully, she will too!

I did get some images taken of the join-as-you-go method I use. I'll post those up later today or tomorrow for anyone interested (SnuggleBunny!). Hope everyone has a sunny day.

Shasta daisy for a Shasta trailer

I was out watering flowers and plants in the garden and around the house yesterday when I came across my shasta daisies and realized that they have the same name as the Shasta trailer my Etsy customer is restoring. I wonder if that's why she picked this particular granny square blanket?

Here's a picture of my daisies and my daisies.

Lynette chose the white border, so away we go...

Daisies on pink

I received a message from a very nice lady named Lynette who is restoring a 58 Shasta trailer and is looking for an afghan for her finished project. I am flattered (especially since she still has afghans that her GREAT grandmother made) and more than happy to create something new for her.

She saw the first daisy blanket I did, but she liked the "flat" daisy from my mother-in-law's blanket, so we are merging the two. I did two samples for her - one with a white border and one with a fuschia border. Not sure yet which one she will pick. Which one do you like best?

You can find the daisy pattern here. I've also received several messages asking to share how I add the border. It's a very simple 3dc ch1 3dc granny square edge, easy to do, but I know how I was when I started out: the more photos the better, so I will try to post some photos with the steps some time tomorrow.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

Note: If you would like to sell items you have made with my patterns, please do give credit to Tillie Tulip. Thank you.

Donna's daisy blanket surprise

I finished my mother-in-law's blanket and sent it over with a vase full of flowers (daisies included of course) and a card with the grandkids on it. My husband was the delivery man, and he took the kids and left everything at her house when we knew she wouldn't be home. By the tone of her voice, I think she was very surprised!

I'm going to work on a variation of this blanket for a baby and list it on Etsy at tillie tulip. Hope you have a peaceful Sunday!

The daisy pattern can be found here.

Donna's Daisy Blanket

My mother-in-law celebrated her 75th birthday in April. One of her favorite flowers is a daisy, so this is my (late) gift I'm working on for her. (I look at it as an extra surprise since she won't be getting it on her exact birthday - I hope she feels the same way!) Maybe I'll pair it with a fresh  bouquet?!

Finished...daisy blanket

Here is a photo of the finished daisy blanket. I didn't get a chance to take photos of the join-as-you-go process, but maybe next time... I was at school this morning signing up my son for kindergarten... so just getting this blanket finished was a monumental task. I really like how these last two blankets have turned out. They are so vibrant; and these little daisies make me smile. Hope they send a smile your way too!

Field of daisies in progress

Almost finished with the squares. I'll use the join-as-you-go method to put these together. I might try to take some photos of the process, so you can see how it's done.

Hope everyone is enjoying their President's Day!

23 more to go...

So here's what I came up with for my next blanket. I think it's sweetly similar to the cute little dress. I interviewed a bright green edging, but in the end I think I like the magenta best. Check back for more photos...

Here is a photo of the wrong side:

These photos are for Tiffini: