A Field of Wildflowers (and a Whole Lot of Yarn)

Hello, Subscriber First Name,

Last month, I shared an update on the Wildflower Project. At that point, I had finalized the layout and overall color direction, but there was still quite a bit of organizing left to do. I recently took a few days to finish that planning phase, and I thought you might enjoy a peek behind the scenes.

Over the past four years, I’ve accumulated a rather impressive collection of notes and digital files for this project, and let’s just say they weren’t exactly organized. I can’t be too hard on myself, though. Back when I was working full-time, I was squeezing in progress wherever I could.

My goal this month was simple on paper:
• Finalize the complete list of flowers for the blanket and eBook
• Choose the final color palette

From all those scattered notes, I pulled together the official list of flowers. I’ve decided to reveal them to you gradually as the year unfolds. Each design will be created both as an appliqué and as a motif. Some motifs will measure 6 inches (15 cm), and the smaller ones will be 3 inches (7.5 cm), but they’ll all work together to form a cohesive field of wildflowers.

Choosing the final palette was its own adventure.

From the beginning, my aim has been to make each flower as botanically realistic as possible, within the constraints of a crochet motif. To capture the incredible range of colors found in Rocky Mountain wildflowers, I chose Cascade 220 Superwash Sport early on.

One thing I love about this yarn is the 50g put-up. Since each flower uses relatively small amounts, the smaller hanks allow for a much more efficient use of yarn. The expansive color range was the other major selling point. From the 81 colors available, I was able to find exact tonal shades, including the precise reds and oranges needed for the Blanket Flower.

Even so, narrowing down the colors was no easy task.

Cascade kindly sent me a full color card a few years ago, and studying those tiny threads has really helped me narrow the options. Still, I often couldn’t be certain a shade was right until I saw it worked up in the flower itself.

I haven’t totaled the cost of all the yarn I’ve collected for this project over the years — and I’m not sure I want to! Two large plastic bins tell the story well enough. I’m crossing my fingers that this final palette means no additional purchases will be necessary.

My first step was to pull every potential contender from those bins. I started with around 30 viable shades and ultimately narrowed the palette down to 20.

Here’s the final selection.

Once the colors and flower list were finalized, I created mood boards to visualize how the tones will interact across the blanket. This step has been invaluable for ensuring balance — a thoughtful mix of shapes, textures, and color values within each section.

Finally, I built a yarn-tracking spreadsheet to record yardage for each flower as I move forward. That will make assembling the patterns into the final eBook and blanket project much smoother.

After all that organizing… I think I’ve earned a cup of tea and a quiet afternoon.

Thank you for following along with this journey. Sharing the behind-the-scenes process with you has been one of the most rewarding parts of this project. It keeps me accountable, and it makes the progress feel real and tangible. I hope you enjoy it too.

Finally, I’m pleased to report that my wonderful tester group is currently polishing the Blanket Flower pattern. It’s on track for a mid-March release, for free on the blog. As always, I’ll share the details here first — so you’ll be among the first to know when the pattern and video are live.

Until then, best wishes and happy stitching,

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