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! 

New custom order...pretty pansies

A special customer down in Texas, who I have worked with over the years (has it really been years?), requested a special blanket using the pattern from Leisure Arts #100318, Afghans for All Seasons, Book 1. It's called "Pretty Pansies", and they really are.

She wanted colors similar to the photo, but on a white background, so this is what I came up with:

(I used Caron One pound in white, jonquil, light blue, lavender, lilac; Vanna's Choice in sweet pea; and Red Heart's pretty in pink.)

She was happy with the samples, so off I go...

Happy 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!

Simple

Sometimes simple can be elegant. My latest blanket is for a lovely lady in New York who will be giving this as a gift to her friend (what a nice friend!) She asked for an all white blanket with flowers. I used the rose pattern, but added one more round of petals and sewed them onto an 8" simple granny square.

These squares will be for the middle of the blanket. Then I'll have a border of several rounds (haven't figured how many yet) of 3dc shell pattern and another border of roses. I'm excited to see how it looks when it all comes together. I love the all white though.

This is the schematic I drew up as a guide:

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Gifts for the twins

I've been racking my brains trying to come up with something special for my cousin's new twin girls. I came across a lovely sunburst pattern (seems very "floral-ly" too) over at Purple Chair Crochet. I think I've seen similar patterns out there, but she has some nice photo instruction as well.

I chose Lion Brand Baby's First cotton/acrylic blend in Twinkle Toes, Fairy Tale, Cotton Ball and Bean Stalk. I'm going to add more squares and perhaps do some granny border in predominantly light pink for one and the darker pink for the other to keep them similar, but not the same. Just like the twins (whose names are Sofia and Lauren - I always want to say "Sophia Loren" :)

I'll post some final photos when I get these done, so you can see how they turn out. Hope you're having a lovely President's Day!

Tillie the mermaid princess

Halloween has come and gone, but I'm finally getting around to posting a photo of Tillie's finished costume. I started a couple of months ago with a crocodile stitch skirt. I wanted her to be able to walk, so I only went to her knees with the pattern and then created a dc "tail" in the front and back - open at the sides. I thought it was cute enough (to be honest, I ran out of time, so I kept it simple!). I made a little bandeau top and was going to crochet some seashells, but ran out of time, so I put a simple flower on one side. The colors were all chosen by Tillie. I just tried to coordinate for a little consistency! She was so excited to wear it, and that's all that mattered.

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!

A visitor in the garden

I didn't get much planted in the garden this year: some tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and flowers. It's been so hot and dry, that I'm almost glad I didn't put too much effort into it this summer. I wish I would've gotten the green beans in for my son Harry who loves to pick and eat straight off the plant! Is it too late to plant green beans??

I'll try to upload my join-as-you-go part II today. Have a wonderful weekend!

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.

Hearts in bloom

I created a sampler square baby afghan a couple of years ago that sold quite well at my Etsy shop. I named it "hearts in bloom" because it was made up of several flower and heart patterns among others. It was a little nod to my Dad too who was dealing with congestive heart failure. He passed away this past September, and it's been a tough year without him. Whenever I think of this blanket, I think of my Dad, and I'm thankful for the time we had together.

The reason I bring up this afghan is because I was asked to do a custom order using purples. I've only done it in pink and white, and I'm looking forward to the change! I also have some new flower squares that I'm looking forward to incorporating. This will be a larger size than usual. I'll let you know how it goes...

Have a wonderful week!

Rose granny rectangle afghan completed

I finished up my afghan this morning when I sewed the little rose to one corner. It's a nice feeling to put the last piece in place. I guess that's why I also like to do jigsaw puzzles so much! I wasn't sure how I wanted to edge it, so I opted for a single crochet in a dark rose and scalloped edge in the dusty rose.

Happy Leap Year Day!

A rose for the rose blanket

This is the rose I made that I'll be adding to my rose baby blanket:

Here's the pattern I used:

Begin by ch4, slip stitch in first ch to form a ring

Round 1: 

*1 sc in ring ch3* repeat 3 times; finish with sl st in first sc from beg round

Round 2: 

In every chain space: 1 sl st, 5 dc and 1 sl st to form three petals

Round 3: (working behind petals)

ch1, work *1 sc around the base of first sc from round 1, ch4, 1 sc at middle of first petal, ch4* repeat around; finish with slip stitch into first sc from beg of round

Round 4: (I used two colors; this is where I joined 2nd color with a sl st into any ch space)

In every chain space: 1 sl st, 6 dc, 1 sl st (6 petals)

Round 5: (working behind petals)

ch1, work *1 sc around the base of first sc from round 3, ch4, 1 sc at middle of first petal, ch4* repeat around; finish with slip stitch into first sc from beg of round

Round 6:

In every chain space: 1 sl st, 7 dc, 1 sl st (6 petals)

Cut and fasten or leave long tail to sew into project.

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:

Feeling pink...almost done...

I think I'll add another row or two and then edge it. Not sure if I will add a scalloped edge or simple one since the flowers are so pretty and already decorative. My 3 year old daughter wants one too.

More photos of the pink, patchwork flower blanket...

I wasn't kidding when I said I was feeling pink - here are a couple more glam shots of how things are coming along. It's more of a patchwork of pink.

Feeling pink, take 2...

Last night it grew...

This is going to be one pink afghan.