A new dress, wardrobe cleanout, knitting, an unusual teenager

For the past few weeks I’ve been clearing out my wardrobe and selling stuff on Vinted, an online marketplace for buying and selling second-hand clothes. It was founded in 2008 by two Lithuanian entrepreneurs, Milda Mitkute and Justas Janauskus. It launched in the UK in 2014. I’m not sure when I discovered it but it’s been my go-to place whenever I need something, especially for the kids as they grow out of clothes so fast I prefer second-hand.

The past couple of weeks I’ve sold so many things I can’t remember them all. You can use the balance from sales to purchase new things from Vinted or transfer the money to your bank account. I have bought a few things with my balance including this lovely handmade dress. The woman made it for herself but no longer wears it. I love handmade things best and this dress is gorgeous – very well made and fully lined. It has pockets and the skirt is a full circle

Part of Vinted’s success is how easy it is to ship items. When someone makes a purchase from your wardrobe they purchase a shipping label which you either print out or get printed out for you at a drop-off point, of which there are several near me. There’s no faffing around with getting shipping quotes – Vinted does it all. Once the item has arrived with the buyer and they’re satisfied the purchase price is transferred to your account. The buyer pays the postage.

Much to Elizabeth’s dislike I bought her a smart phone this week. Unlike every other 13-year-old on the planet she has vehemently rejected getting one. She says she doesn’t want to be one of those people who stares at their phone all day. Because I’m a bad mother I forced one upon her this week under the guise of its being a camera for her upcoming school trip to somewhere scenic. Really I want a way to contact her while she’s away because we’ll miss her. She wasn’t happy but has agreed to take it and I’ve said I can take it back after her trip if she still doesn’t want it. It was just a second-hand one from Black Market.

I’ve been knitting another jumper and it’s looking so nice so far but now I need to get some smaller circular needles for the sleeves so it’s on hold for a bit. I’ve been reusing yarn from a cardigan I crocheted a year ago but that didn’t work out and doesn’t look very good so I’m pulling it apart now. I’ll post pics when I’m finished the new jumper.

I got some new yarn for my birthday and can’t wait to start knitting it. It’s my favourite Bluefaced Leicester from Herd. This is undyed so it’s the natural sheep colour. It’s really soft and lovely to work with.