Grey like the sky these days, but with a spot of sunshine.

A very nice customer contacted me last month, and asked if I could create a new daisy blanket for her friend who is heading off to college next year. One of the reasons I like working with customers is because they sometimes push me in a different direction I might not go on my own. I love color, but I do enjoy the subdued shades as well. I think it turned out quite pretty.

I used Caron One Pound Soft Grey (2 skeins), White (1 skein) and Yellow (1 skein).

Click here for my daisy pattern.

It was fun to work with her and meet someone new. I have been blessed to meet so many genuine and nice people over the years since I opened this little shop. I really enjoy that part.

Hope every one is staying warm on this December day.

Way overdue...

...on showing this blog a little attention. I can't believe how fast time flies. When I wander around the internet, I wonder how some people can post daily to the various social media platforms and still have time to come up with all of the beautiful and unique creations out there. I barely have time to brush my teeth and get the kids off of the bus.

I have been so busy with family, work and...blankets. First, the family. My son: Harry, had a diorama due this week for Science. He picked the North American Grasslands. I think he did a really nice job (OK, I helped a little, but that's the benefit of having a work-from-home, graphic designer mom.) I printed the photos he picked and handled the glue gun, and he typed the labels and did the cutting. Hope he gets a good grade. I'm posting this because I was helped and inspired by other Moms' photos!

Secondly, the blankets: A very nice woman named Kathleen has contacted me to help with some overflow blankets. I'm happy to work with her because she is so darn sweet. Just a really pleasant human being (we need more of her). Anyhoo, we did some pretty daisy throws, and then I worked on this one for her. I switched up the daisy by only doing a double crochet in the petals instead of the usual treble crochet. I like this petite daisy variation. The colors she chose were also some of my favorites, and together, I think it turned out to be a very pretty blanket -- if I do say so.

Hope this post finds you happy and healthy! 

First snow of the season

Finishing up some custom order blankets and enjoying the beauty of snow. Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

Finishing up a new daisy blanket

I am almost finished with a new pink daisy blanket I have been working on with a new customer over at my Etsy shop. She is a breast cancer survivor and is including the blanket in a daisy themed basket for a silent auction. She sent me her logo:

And I supplied a new version of the daisy based on her gerbera-type daisy used in the logo:

Ultimately, she went with the original daisy, but I really like how this on came out, and will definitely be using it in a new blanket.

BTW, the Get In Touch Foundation is a breast health nonprofit organization and the Get In Touch Girls' Program & Daisy Wheel teaches girls in grades 5-12 the importance of and how to do a breast self exam.

What a wonderful cause! 

Custom daisy blanket complete

I finally finished up the pretty custom order, so I thought I'd share a little happiness with you:

It really is a sunny square. It somehow makes my day brighter. I hope it makes yours brighter too.

Have a wonderful weekend!

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!

Neglect, neglect, neglect

I realize I have been neglecting this little blog, and I promise to try to get some new patterns together to share. I am a freelance graphic designer, and I have been busy with work coming in (I can't complain) and a few new custom orders at the shop. When it rains, it pours. I wish I could knit and crochet all day, but unfortunately beyond work, I am a wife and mother which means, maid, chauffeur, cook and teacher as well!

I did just finish up a new daisy blanket for a very nice customer over in Illinois. She requested a white border, and I think it turned out quite nice. This is the same pattern I wrote about here.

Next up, an all white rose blanket...

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!

Pink (shasta) daisy blanket is finished!

I completed Lynette's afghan this morning. She let me decide how to edge it, so I chose a hdc of white and a sc of the pink. Subtle. I like subtle, even though the blanket screams pink sunshine!

It's a true pleasure to create these blankets for such nice people. I can't say enough about all of the very nice customers I've been fortunate enough to meet.

On a side note, I've obviously been a little tied up with work, family and tillie tulip, but I will get part II of my join-as-you-go tutorial up as soon as I can! 

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.

Multi-tasking

I've been working away on my rainbow afghan, and when I need to take a break from it, I do a few squares for the daisy on blue blanket. This one will be slightly different than the pink daisy blanket.

I'm going to have a ton of weaving in to do, but we will be road tripping to the mountains of WV in the near future, so I will have some time in the car to lock in those little, pesky tails.

Photo tutorial of how to create the daisy

To beg - chain (ch) 5 and join to form a circle

Round 1: ch 2, 11 double crochet (dc) into ring

Round 2: change to new color with a slip st in any space between dc; ch2, * 3 treble (tc) in same space; remove crochet hook and insert it into the top of the first tc; hook and pull last tc through first loop - petal made - ch2 * and repeat * to *. make 11 more petals in this fashion

Slip st into first petal and finish off.

Sorry I didn't include the steps and photos side-by-side, but I thought by including some photos, you could at least have a gauge for how it should look! Good luck!

You can see photos of my finished blanket here.

To see how to add rounds go here.

New pink flower blanket

I seem to have a love affair with pink, and since the daisy blanket was so well received, I'm doing a new version in pink for a little baby girl.

I'll try to work up a tutorial for this flower in the next day or two, so stop back.

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?!

Purple flower patch done!

I finished the purple flower patch last night. I hope my customer likes it! Now onto some personal projects. I'll try to share some photos as I go. I'll also try to be better about keeping up on this blog. Hope everyone is having the beautiful weather that we are. It's a sunny-blue-sky day today. 

Happy weekend!

Purple progress

Here's where I'm at with my shades of purple hearts in bloom blanket:

A pile of purple (and some white)! I've acquired several new granny square patterns that I'll use in this afghan for the first time. I think that's part of the fun of creating a sampler - everything is a little different and each one of these blanket is never the same as the last.

As I drove to pick up my son from school I saw a sign that read 85 degrees! Just last week it was in the 40s... I'm enjoying a little Vitamin D today. Hope you are too.

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!