Oh that's gorgeous! Do the next one exactly like this one LOL. It seems to me that, with Patchwork type designs, you want contrast. One way to do it would be to use primary colors in one, secondary colors and another one, tertiary colors and another Etc. In other words red blue and yellow always go together. Green orange and purple always go together. After that I get confused LOL.

Thank you, Sylvia, I think so too! There are so many varieties and combinations to choose from that I thought it would be fun to see what's most popular amongst the group here. I tend to lean towards happy blue and greens with yellow myself and have pretty much most any color in my stash already!

That is beautiful. The turquoise, fuschia and orange together is very striking. For a more subdued look the first one with blue, fuschia and yellow is lovely.

I remember a afghan that was at my Grandmother's house for years and years. The squares where all the same colors but worked in a different order. They really contrasted with the "square" color which was black. As I recall, the colors were all quite bright. Dusty Rose, Seafoam Green and Golden Yellow, if I remember correctly.

I like the third one on the right. Brown, cream and dark turquoise.

Well, how to pick a favorite square? I can't. That's perfection.

navy-yellow-white

purple-red-charcoal

brown-charcoal-black

You've got an entire blanket of my favorite. Blue, yellow and pink, especially if you vary the depth of color (dark blue (or purple) with light pink or dark pink with light blue). I also love medium blue, dark dark brown, and cream together.

I made a blanket like that many years ago using all the colors under the rainbow which I pretty much pulled at random as I was working.

Then I ended up making some squares inspired by various things. I did one for the sea, one for the forest, one for the plains, etc. I did a row of holidays: red green for xmas, red white blue for 4th of july, black and orange for halloween, shades of red and pink for valentines etc. Maybe that will help inspire you...

Could also do birds...blue, gold finch, cardinal, red-winged black birds, etc.

I love it!!

My comment is unhelpful, but sincere. :-)

That really is very nice!

Interesting that on my monitor, the one that jkyad likes as brown, cream and dark turquoise looks like deep purple, light pink, off white and dark turquoise. The middle row of color in several of the squares actually looks like 2 colors rather than one.

Any color combinations that you like will work, just go with whatever strikes your fancy when you reach for a new color.

Or maybe you could sort your stash by color families, then by intensity of color. Then, each square you make, pull one color from each of 3 piles.

Yeah, I know, no help at all. :^( But whatever you chose will be pretty.

Rusty

I know afghans are usually full of intense colors. My mother made one with a black background and bright yellows and oranges.

Your example has a white background and a blue border. I'd prefer all 'cool' shades against that background. I thinking of more 'like' colors, such as I would plant together in a flowerbed or arrange together in a vase -- or *wear* together. The bolder colored (tropical?) squares in your example would appeal more to me against a 'jungle' green.

Now I may have to break out my crochet hook and start something. I love the colors you have here.. I think any color combo you use will look terrific. I like the dark, light, dark, and reverse. Beautiful!!

Red, yellow, any green

maroon, red, palest lavender

three tones of ANY color

for unexpected touch, metallic yarn, gold silver copper

your blanket makes me think of an English flower garden where all colours go together. I think the white really sets off and ties it all together. That said I like purples blues and greens.

I don't like the use of beige/tan. I do like the purple, pink and teal combo the best. The pastels next to the white don't stand out, so I would save them for the inner colors. Have fun, it sounds like an enjoyable project!

You could also browsedesign seeds for inspiration.

The same one jkyad mentioned - it looks like brown, cream and teal to me.

Love this! The motifs with the darker color on the outside seem to "pop" more. Like the fuchia, orange, and teal; and the pale blue, pink, and black. I like the teal, pink/white, and purple, too. I personally would not use cream if your background is going to be white; the white can make the cream look dirty.

I like the fourth one in a straight line from the corner--the gray, turquoise, and gold. Then if you go three squares to the right of that one, the light purple, turquoise, and aqua.

Thanks for all the suggestions and feed back! I love the look of these afghans. The photo above is just an example of the blanket I'm making. I'm already about 20 motifs in and it's a lot more enjoyable than I thought it would be.

I really like the ones with the black background as well, my Grandmother made us one once and all the motives were scraps from sweaters, hats and mittens she'd made us over the years. Its was so special, I get goosebumps when I think about it.

These are some others I'm pulling inspiration from as well as one with a black background; the last one has the kind of border I want to add to it.

So, Irish, what would be wrong with shades of green? Asked in my crummiest brogue. :))

Why not a dark green or teal background, instead of white or black? Then you could use pastels on the edges of the flowers and express your Irish-ness?

Btw, Do you have a bargain place to buy all this yarn? I have been crocheting doilies and am getting tired of patterns that don't work out or I can't follow, and cramp my hands. You have inspired me to try something like this. The beauty is we can make them as large or small as we like. But where to stock up on all the colors of these yarns?

Clearwaters, I've actually got several shades of green that I'm using, my favorite though are greens that run in the the lime or apple green family.

Andreap, there are lots of projects on Ravelry.com where the person used a different color for the back ground. I think most people lean towards the black or white because they are neutral colors and make a good back ground for the colorful motifs; regardless of the colors they're in. Gray, another neutral is gaining in popularity too, but just as you can make any size you want, you can also use any background color you want as well. The options are endless.

I'm not making this one for my family and the recipient is looking forward to a wide variety of color so I can't make it with an Irish theme. I could make one with Shamrock motifs next time though!

As for the yarn, these kinds of afghans are affectionately referred to as stash busters because they are a great way to pull out all of the left overs from other projects and use them up. My stash could fill an entire closet so most of the colors I'm using I already have. However, if you're just starting out, you could choose a group of colors, and make your motifs using a variety of combinations from that group. I like the I Love Yarn, from Hobby Lobby. It's super soft, they have a lot of colors to choose from and it's affordable.

If you haven't joined or looked through Ravelry.com I would urge you to do so. It's the garden web of Crochet and Knitting. It's free to join and there are tons of patterns, many of which are free as well. And, for inspiration, there are also thousands projects people have already finished and posted pictures of.

The motifs I'm making come from a really easy pattern. If you decide to give it a try and need help, let me know.

Here's some more so you can see the backgound in different colors. The last two are ones where the colors are more limited, I love the way both turned out.

Wow, lukkiirish, I love the second and third form the bottom. I gave a bunch of left over acrylic yarn to the thrift store, but will have to think about afghans. I am making a slouchy hat and mittens for a friend right now. Will be fun to do my own project again.

Themes are always successful, but I tend to make scrapghans. I have a small, plastic trashcan. The size that you might find for a kid's room. It has a cover. No matter the size of a leftover, it goes into the can. When the can is so full that it's hard to get the cover to close, I know it's time for a new scrapghan. I pull colors at random. Whatever strikes my eye at the time is what goes into any particular square. The only thing that I need to purchase is border color and that is usually determined by whatever turns out to be the predominant color. I've never been disappointed with an outcome and I never get bored during the process because all squares are a surprise to me as they are "born" at the time I'm working on them.

Seems like there are a few here who are interested in making their own afghan, maybe we should start a thread so we can all share our progress and tips.

Clearwaters, that's a really clever (and smart) way to collect your next blanket; I hate to toss any yarn out, but also hate having little balls all over the place, I'm going to have to find a can I can use.

Love the blue one, third from bottom and the last one is pretty, too.

These are all so pretty. I love all the colors together. Love the white/ivory background. Make me one ;-)

Ooh, I like em all! And in all the photos!!! I wish I had the patience... nope, too many hobbies already...

The blue afghan laying on the stairs... Love it! Recently i saw one done in shades of lavendar, teal and greys. It was stunning! The background was black but the motifs were larger making for not much black.

Arcy, your Afghan was absolutely beautiful! I don't know how you parted with it.

Oh wow, that's beautiful Arcy! I can't believe you made that 45 years ago! Would you believe I have a pattern for a similar blanket saved in my Ravelry favorites? And the example is almost identical!

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/crochet-daisy-blanket-afghan

I feel the same way, that's why I make afghans for anyone in my world who wants one.