Done! I love this. The sparkly white for the snowflake section is gorgeous, but hard to capture in the pictures. I’m sad to give this one away :)

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Using Hobby Lobby “I love this yarn” with a size-I hook, my gauge square was about 9” wide. For goal afghan of 50”x70”, plan for 5 squares x 7 squares (35 squares), which is a bit smaller than that, but the connections and edging will add a bit as well.

I unraveled my gauge motif, and weighed each section (assuming the color changes where recommended). Each Hobby Lobby “I love this yarn” skein is about 200 grams (7 oz) and 355 yards. And the metallic one is 142 grams (5 oz) and 252 yards.

Color A (gray): 21 grams total 3 grams for the inner most section, 8 grams middle section, 10 grams outermost section. This translates to about 37.3 yards per square. For 35 squares, I need 1305 yards, which is 3.7 skeins (get 4 skeins).

Color B (sparkly/metallic white) - this is the first two sections of white (innermost and middle). Will need about 20 grams per square 5 grams for innermost section, 14 grams for middle section. This translates to about 5.5 yards per square. For 35 squares, I need 1242 yards, which is 4.9 skeins. Get 6 to be safe.

Color C (the outermost color): 9 gram per square (last 2 rounds). This translates to about 16 yards. For 35 squares, I need 560 yards + more for joining + edging, which is 1.5 skeins. Add one or two for additional edging or fancy joins…get 3 or 4 to be safe…not yet sure how I’m going to edge things.

Used hdcs in the corners of the last 2 rounds (rather than sc) to make it more square / pointier corners. LOVE THIS pattern… so well written, and the video tutorial is super helpful.

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I used a flat braid-style join which gives it a braided look (pulling the st through the opposing square by dropping loop, inserting hook in other square from RS to WS, and pulling through):

With RS facing, join yarn with slip stitch in ch-2 corner, chain 1, drop loop then insert hook through ch-2 corner on opposing square from RS to WS and pull loop through,
ch-1, skip first stitch on other square, slip into next stitch,
ch-1, skip 1 stitch on other square, drop loop and pull it through the opposing square, ch-1…
continue to end (putting last slip sts in the end ch-2 corner).
Will join them in strips, then will join the strips.

Kind of like this… but with sl sts into each square (rather than sc), and ch-1/skip-1 (instead of two): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-zqfgtQmTE

Or this (replacing the sc with just a sl st): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlsbGc17iRk

Update Aug 17, 2017 -- all strips are done, attaching right now! Note on attaching… using the same flat braid method, and then when I get to the 4-corners, I’m putting a single crochet into the two corresponding gaps together (closes up that gap nicely), chain 1, then another sc in the next two corresponding gaps… then chain 1 and carry on.

After joining everything together:
SC around for the edging. At the junction between two squares, sc in first gap, front-post hdc around the joined section, sc in second gap… continue on. Sc - chain 2 - sc in corners. I did 4 rounds for the edging.