Wildflower Afghan

It’s finally finished! My very first granny square afghan. And I think I’m in love.

This really shouldn’t have taken me as long as it did. Way back in early July, when I posted the pattern for the Wildflower Granny Square, I’m pretty sure I made a few empty promises that I’d be posting the finished blanket within a week or so. But I have to be honest — I do not like repetition in crochet. When I make a new pattern, I’m pretty content to never make it again. (Fall and Winter are torturous for me with all of the sock monkey and polar bear hats I sell on Etsy.) So when I started making the squares for this blanket, the first few were fun. The next ones, and the ones after that, not so much.

But wow, what a feeling of accomplishment when I did finally complete them and started stitching my blanket together! I mean, seriously. I was so excited.

This particular afghan is a gift for a dear friend who is having a baby girl in November. If you follow my blog, you know that our family is relocating to Michigan in a couple of weeks. I’m pretty distraught that I’m not going to be around when Baby R. is born, and I couldn’t move without leaving something special for her. So, by the time you’re reading this, I’ll have already surprised her mommy with the blanket. I hope she loves it!

And, much to my surprise, now that this blanket is finally complete, I’m finding myself kind-of-sort-of wanting to make another one for myself. We’ve purchased a home in our new town, and I’ve already decided on the colors of the living room: chocolate brown and tan, with bright teal accents. I think that a Wildflower Afghan with those colors, draped over our dark brown couch, would be eye-catching and beautiful. Here’s a walk-thru list of how I created this afghan.

THE SQUARES

For the squares, I of course used my free pattern for Wildflower Granny Squares. For the blanket pictured above, which measures 28″x34″, you’ll need to make the following:

• (10) white squares with pink and yellow flowers (Bernat Satin “Snow” and “Banana”, and Caron Simply Soft “Strawberry”)
• (3) blue squares with white and green flowers (Bernat Satin “Lagoon” and “Snow”, and Caron Simply Soft “Mint”)
• (3) green squares, with white and green flowers (Bernat Satin “Snow” and Caron Simply Soft “Mint”)
• (2) purple squares, with white and green flowers (Bernat Satin “Snow” and “Lavender”, and Caron Simply Soft “Mint”)
• (2) yellow squares, with white and green flowers (Bernat Satin “Snow” and “Banana”, and Caron Simply Soft “Mint”)

THE JOINING METHOD

I single crocheted my squares together. I knew from the very beginning that this was how I wanted to do it; I love the look of the raised edges, and I think it perfectly compliments the raised flowers. Since I’d never actually done it before, I referred to this tutorial by Repeat Crafter Me. I added one SC in each corner section.

THE EDGING

And last but not least — the edging! I started with a couple rounds of white SC, adding (SC+Ch1+SC) in each corner. Then, to make it even a little more girly, I added a white row of DC ruffles (3 DC in each stitch, with 5 in each corner). It took a while to get around, but it was worth it. (Although if I were making this for someone other than a child, I would have left the ruffles off.)

That’s it!

Of course, the color combination possibilities are endless. Whatever colors you choose, I know you’ll end up with an afghan that’s really going to stand out. Be sure to send me your finished photos!