Vodka Lemonade and the Gun Range?

Yep, but it's not what you are thinking.  I would never in a million years drink and shoot.  However, I will wear my Vodka Lemonade Cardigan to the range.  See, that's the name of this sweater pattern.  With a name like Vodka Lemonade, how could I not want to knit this darling up? 

Just because I was wearing a skirt doesn't mean I'll give up the opportunity to take a trip to the range.  As you may have guessed, I was the fanciest gal there and stuck out like a sore thumb.  Not that that has ever bothered me one bit.

After the range, we took a stroll through a local car show.  Oh my how I loved each one of these classic babies.

I think this Studebaker was my favorite.  Just look at the propeller on the front.  That is seriously awesome!

Oh, don't mind me, I'm just checking my lipstick.

And pretending that I know what the hell I'm looking at under the hood.

But hey, let's talk about this sweater.  Like I mentioned earlier, it's the Vodka Lemonade cardigan by Thea Colman.  My mom had the idea of knitting this sweater together as our own little knit a long.  We both started it in December while I was visiting her in Nevada.  I finished it in February, but wasn't loving it all that much which is why it has taken so long to make it on the blog. 

It is clearly a spring/summer cardigan which may be why I wasn't in love with it in February.  Also, the pattern description says it has a "vintage feel" and I'm not really feeling that.  Maybe it's a bit early 60's but it doesn't have that 40's or 50's feel that I usually like.  I changed up the pattern a bit.  The lace panel in the back wasn't part of the original pattern, it was supposed to be just around the bottom but I thought I would get bored without it.

I also prefer that my sweaters have some sort of closure and this pattern doesn't have any.  I improvised with this little poodle and heart pin.  Super cute, but kind of a pain in my ass.

Although this may not be my favorite sweater that I've ever made, it was a nice pattern and it goes very well with many of the skirts in my wardrobe.  Including this skirt I made last summer.  If I were to make this sweater again, I would alter it to have buttons and also use a yarn with more stretch to it.  The cotton yarn I used from Jimmy Bean's is awesome but I don't think it was the right choice for this pattern.  I just loved the color so much and knew it would fit in to the mix well.  

I'm glad I got to wear it once before we started hitting the high 70's and low 80's.  I can't believe what a nice, hot summer we are having here in Alaska.  Now, I'm going to go dip my toes in the water with Cupcake and a real Vodka and Lemonade (don't worry Mom, all my homework is done).

XOXO,

Cherry 

Circle Skirts and Shenanigans

I am completely in awe of the amazingly wonderful spring we've had here in Alaska.  Last years summer was the wettest/rainiest summer we've had in recorded history.  The one before that, we completely skipped over spring and after an extra 2 months of snowy winter jumped right in to summer.  So I think it is about time that we get a proper spring around here.  Halleluiah!  This spring, and ideally all summer long, my go-to, outfit of choice has been a circle skirt (usually hand made), a tank top and comfy flats.  It may seem like that formula could get a little boring but I haven't tired of it yet.  With novelty prints, like the one above, that have so many colors in them and a rainbow of tank tops in my drawers, the combinations are damn near endless.  Not to mention my ever growing piles of colorful accessories to add to each outfit.  I sure haven't gotten bored yet.

 Cupcake, as always, likes to be a part of as many pictures as possible.  I made this skirt back when I was in the Spring for Cotton mode but decided that for the sew-a-long I would focus on the 1940's blouses because those were something new for me.  Skirts, on the other hand, are the main focus of most of my sewing endeavors. I wish I could tell you what pattern I use or have used for most of my skirts but I really don't know anymore.  The pattern has been cut and hacked and taped back together and cut down again so many times it no longer resembles the original pattern at all.  

More exciting than wearing my skirt out of the house for the first time was WHO I got to spend that day with.  Fabulous clothes are made even more fabulous when you get to wear them in the company of fabulous people.  My dear friend Terri is one of the most fabulous people I know.  FABULOUS!!! Unfortunately, she lives about 300 miles away from me so we don't get to see each other all that often.  Consequently,  each and every time we do get to see each other is that much more special. 

One of our first stops was a local antique shop, Thriftiques.  It is one of the smaller shops in town, but it is jam packed with all sorts of little treasures.  We always seem to find a little something that we just can't live without.

How adorable is she, right?  As we were leaving the shop we spotted, in the parking lot, the coolest trike I've ever seen.  And you know, I've seen my share of cool trikes.  This one takes the cake.  So much so, that I ran back into the shop and very excitedly asked the shop keeper if we could take pictures on it.  He happily obliged and came out of the shop to move it and take a few pictures for us.

  Can you believe this thing?  What's even cooler is the shop keeper rides this to work every day!

Each time Terri and I get together there are shenanigans to be had.  This day was no different, serious shenanigans here.  For two gals who, together have a suitcase full of anxiety issues, those all seem to melt away when we are together.  Leaving us free to be silly, crazy and obnoxious with no fear of consequences or weird stares from strangers.  Of which, we get a lot!!

We continued our day at a few other antique shops and had amazing food out on the deck of a local restaurant, washed down with margaritas.  I didn't get many more pictures of our day because we were just too busy being together to worry about our phones or cameras.  Not that we don't love our pictures, but it's our conversations and time just spent together that we really enjoy.  I am truly blessed to have such an amazing friend in my life!!

  By the end of the day, I was exhausted in the best way possible and just a little bit sunburned.  Oops, 1 layer of sunblock in the morning, before I leave the house is not enough to get me through a whole day spent mostly outside.  Lesson learned, I now have a bottle in the house, in my car, and even a tiny one in my purse. 

Do you have a standard summer wardrobe 'formula'?  What sort of shenanigans do you and your friends like to get in to?  I'd love to hear from you.

XOXO,
Cherry