The top motif is the one I’ve settled on for this blanket. It’s a hybrid of Afghan #9 and Crown Jewels.

The pattern:
Afghan #9 Rounds 1-10.
Modified Afghan # 9 Round 11 in hdc instead of sc.
Modified Crown Jewels Round 8 with tr clusters instead of dtr clusters and number of repeats increased.
Crown Jewels Round 9.
Finish with modified Afghan # 9 Round 12 with 24 dc on each side.

Patterns I’ve tried (from the bottom up) are:

in Parisian Cotton -
Marguerite from Priscilla Crochet Booklet: Bedspreads
Figure 34, Hexagon from Priscilla Crochet Booklet: Bedspreads
Motif 14 from Lace Crochet Best Pattern 238

in Wool-Ease Sportweight
Lacy Square Motif
Super Cable Aran Spiral

Not pictured (on other project pages):
Dream Catcher
Locutus
Crown Jewels
Renaissance Beauty
Waterlily
Venetian Star
Peach Rose
Gothic Square
Duckbill Dalliance
M-6
#9
Monet Pineapple

Updated 5/13/13: This project has been hibernating since December. I had some other deadlines and had to give up on the idea of this being a birthday gift. Since then, I’ve been rethinking even making the blanket because now that my mom is moved into her new place, I’m not sure this is the right color for such a big blanket. So perhaps I will use the yarn for other projects…