Ravelry: Bright Textures Blanket pattern by Bernat Design Studio. I've done 2 afghans with this Bernat pattern (one as a scrap afghan, the other to match a decor) and both turned out beautifully. I would highly recommend this pattern.
If youre ready to give crochet a try, weve got you covered. Weve found 18 easy crochet stitches you can use for any project to get you started. Once youve learned a few basic stitches, you can tackle any simple crochet projects with ease. - Crafting Now
Start with 3 colors. Each block is 9 stitches so for however wide you want the blanket, count in 9 to get your foundation (always make it an uneven number of "blocks) eg: 19 blocks(makes it about long) stitches then add 4 sc for the foundation row.
Various crochet stitches patterns, in French. Like this beautiful stitch, le point "cotte de mailles". It also has pictures so if you're experienced and don't know French it can be figured out.