EZ's Square Garter Baby Blanket

Yarn: Free Style in light blue (no. 5703), 11 skeins, approx 962 yards/880 meters
Needles: Addi Turbo 5.0 mm (US 8) 60" circulars and the same size Bryspun short dpn for the icord edging.
Pattern: Knitted Garter Stitch Blanket from The Opinionated Knitter, pg. 52, available here from Schoolhouse Press.
Gauge: 4.5 stitches and 8.5 rows per inch.
Size: c/o was 66 stitches, dimensions after machine washing and drying is 33.5" by 33.5". The blanket is actually square, I did a poor job of laying it out for the photo shoot.
Begun: 10/28/06
Completed: 1/4/08
Notes: *I slipped the edge stitches which made applying the icord effortless, all I had to do to attach the icord was to pull the working yarn under the slipped stitches along the sides; no wrestling with bumps.
*I wrapped the short row stitches and knitted the wraps along with the stitches. The photo above is a closeup of the wrapped stitches and icord border. This photo also shows the color more accurately.
*I made the mistake of adding new yarn in the center of the afghan rather than at the edges. I couldn't use a spit splice because this is superwash wool and I wove in the ends as neatly as I could but they show. Since this is a gift and I'm a perfectionist I'm not pleased. If I'd added new balls of yarn at the edges I could have hidden the tails under the icord border.
*I'm giving to my daughter's friend who is expecting a boy in two months.
*I only used 11 balls of yarn because I got this on eBay. It is small because I was afraid I'd run out of yarn. As it turned out, I was running on fumes at the end.
*The garter stitch makes for a very thick blanket. The next time I make this I will use a sport weight yarn and make it bigger. It is a wonderful, easy pattern and, in my experience, baby blankets are loved by the recipients for years so they are well worth the effort.