Guest Reviewer -- Emily Howe reviews the Yarnmarket project, Veggie Patch Blanket

I found this project when looking for gift ideas for a friend about to have their first baby. I thought this blanket was adorable and couldn't resist making it. I loved that I could order everything together to make the blanket. This was my first project using the yarn recommended by the pattern. Most of my knitting has been done with acrylic yarns from big box craft stores before this (I know I am missing out). And this yarn is made out of corn!!! How cool is that!

The first thing I noticed when I got this supplies in the mail is the yarn is wound in skeins. Once I mastered the technique of winding skeins into balls, things went very smoothly. I put the loop of yarn around a bed pillow to keep it from tangling. It saved a lot of time, especially because my boyfriend got sick of holding the yarn when I was only a quarter done.

The Corntastic Veggie Patch blanket is made by knitting squares and then sewing the squares together. There are 25 squares split among 4 colors. The squares were split up: 7 blue squares and 6 of the other three colors. Because the most I had to do in one color was 7 squares it kept me from getting too bored before the project was finished. Each square only took a couple hours to finish. The yarn was easy to work with, and the amount given in the project kit was just about perfect. I had less than half a skein left of all the square colors and one full skein of the green left, but I think I conserved green while sewing the squares together to avoid balling the final skein :), so I was glad to have the extras. The only complaint I had when working with the yarn was the strands separated at times. I just had to be careful to get all the thread strands around the needle in each stitch and it was fine. I have had the same problem when using 100% cotton and 100% bamboo yarn.

When the blanket was finished it looked amazing. The yarn is machine washable and the blanket held up to the first wash wonderfully. Always a plus when making something for a baby. My friends have told me many times that this was their daughter's favorite blanket. She didn't like blankets that felt hot after being under them for a while and would throw off blankets all the time. The yarn in the veggie patch blanket remained cool to the touch while keeping her warm underneath it. This is the only blanket she didn't throw off.

I would recommend purchasing a project kit and I have already picked out my next project kit to order :).