Destashing Counts as Packing, right?

It’s been a wild few weeks—one of those whirlwind times. My husband got headhunted for a job and we’ve decided to move to Vilnius!

I am so excited about this move. Of course, the first thing I looked up was where the fabric, yarn, bead, and general craft supply shops were and… There are a LOT of them. It might be my craft store dream city. They also have a penchant for hot air balloons and it’s culturally important to show up on time. I won’t know anything really until I get there, but one of their national foods is fried bread with melted cheese on top so I’m very optimistic.

It does, unfortunately, mean packing my flat in Dublin up. Technically I haven’t even finished unpacking and yet… I’ve managed to delude myself that using up craft supplies I already have counts as unpacking.

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So, let’s talk knitting. This doesn’t look like much…. but, in the right context….

I mean, he’s so handsome. I was working on another project with this yarn and Baxter sat beside it and the colours just worked. Now I just need to block it, make it a bow, and throw some elastic on the back. It’s the large bow from Wool and Pine’s Cottagecore Hair Accessories pattern. They only list for fingering and DK weight so I subtracted the stitch count from those and then did the same subtraction to the DK and used the yarn’s recommended needle size. I can’t wait to finish this and see him in it.

Next up are the Winter Rose Socks by Curious Handmade. I absolutely love this pattern and I’m so excited with how well these turned out. I made mine with Apple Oak Fibre Work’s Turin base- a mix of wool, silk, and ramie. I dyed it with their Hibiscus dye kit- at least I’m like 80% sure it was Hibiscus. I haven’t been so great at record-keeping. I absolutely love how these turned out and can’t wait for a super cold Lithuanian winter.

Seriously though, I miss wearing knit socks. My feet feel so exposed and I hate it.

I’ve also finished the Heirloom Set by Paintbox Yarns for my friend’s baby. Now I just need to block it! I used Rico Essentials Merino DK and I can’t get over how cute this entire thing is. I’m obsessed with it.

Up next is my Ombre Cardigan by Tanis Fibre Arts. I’m making it in the now discontinued Debbie Bliss Rialto Lace from the deep stash. I’m also making some significant changes to this- I’m foregoing the button band for a tie, and I’m going to mess with the sleeves as well. All up this is going really well. I plan to dye it after it’s done which is all sorts of scary because I’m not sure what colour I’ll be going for and if I’ll be able to achieve whatever colour I pick. I’m open to colour suggestions as well as advice on how to achieve it!

Next up is my new sort of obsession- Tunisian Crochet! I’ve been wanting to try this forever so when I found this Vanna’s Choice yarn in my deep stash I knew it was time. I’m making this as a gift for my friend who’s a horticulturalist so the washability will be perfect. I’m doing the Tunisian Crochet for Beginners class on Craftsy and it’s going really well. This is also the project that sparked Baxter’s bow tie.

I realized after my last post I completely forgot about my temperature blanket.

Here’s the thing: I’ve always wanted to do a temperature blanket. I love the idea. I always thought the biggest issue would be the cost; however, I have found a much bigger issue. Not a pattern issue- it’s the Temperature Blanket pattern by WoolnHook and I love it. It’s not the yarn. I’m using Drops Karisma which is pretty good for a blanket and kind of solved the cost issue a bit too. It’s not even about my predisposition to procrastination. I love getting crochet hyperfocused and catching up.

The issue is much bigger than all of that.

Sitting under a wool blanket when Dublin is the same temperature as Spain is torture.

I can’t handle the heat, I never could. I get my seasonal depression in the summer. Once it gets over twenty degrees I’m out. So, while there are some nights where the temperature drops and I’ll do a row or two I won’t be updating as much on this until it’s more not hell outside.

In any case, thanks for sticking with me and reading my updates! I did a video as well if you’re interested in that format. Any tips on international moving and sweater colours and anything really are greatly appreciated!