Reggae, weddings and quilt tops

   We went to a wonderful Propaganjah concert last night. These guys are absolutely awesome..and personable with their crowd., mingling amongst the audience during their breaks. 

We were at The Shed at McCrae's of Homosassa, an outdoor tiki bar of sorts. It was fun. The other place we like is across the bay, Crumps Landing. They had a band as well, but it was nice not to be able to hear them over Propaganjah. There is an island in the middle of the channel called Monkey Island. "Bad" monkeys are on the island with a little house, ropes and trees to climb. Someone goes out twice a day to feed the monkeys. It's pretty cool to see and be entertained while dining. Unfortunately, I can't upload my video of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" as the file is too large. It featured my oldest son, Jeff, on bass and was quite good, if I do say so myself! But if you search Propaganjah on YouTube and  Spotify, you can give the boys a listen. I really do enjoy watching them..they have a lot of fun. 

   Last Thursday, my friend Lori and I went to see Mike Love, another reggae dude, in Deland. My son Steven turned us on to him as he is usually on You Tube when we go visit Steve, Nicole, and Xander. 

He's a lot of fun to watch, too. 

  Prior to this reggae fest, Bob and I traveled to Oklahoma for the wedding of one of Tim's marine buddies. When they say the "Wind comes whipping down the plains..." they weren't kidding.  I'm glad I brought a sweater..it was quite chilly to this Florida transplant. The weather was perfect and the wedding was beautiful  We hope Dougie and Breanna ( and Kadence and Kailynn as well...Dougie even married the two girls and promised to be there for them...everyone was crying..it was so sweet) have a long and happy life together~~~

It was so great to see my OK family. I last saw them all in 2019 for my soul sister Tricia's 50th birthday party on July 4th. They are still as fun loving, great cooks and as hospitable as they come. I truly miss being around their family. They all have such a great bond, it's wonderful and refreshing in this day and age to experience and be a part of! They had never met Bob in person, but from the time we landed in Tulsa, this wonderful family treated him and I as we are one of their own. We need more of THIS!!!!

And when I was on vacation, I also worked on a baby quilt that a lady at work commissioned from me. I re-learned how to use my Cricut from Tricia while I was in OK, so I was able to cut out elephants that I liked and use for the applique of Mommy & Me:

I am so happy to say that I finished the embroidery and piecing today. I was nervous about the embroidery of all the names. I have been fighting with my embroidery machine lately as the thread usually gets stuck on the spool and breaks my needles. Soooooo....I have learned to stand and watch it to ensure the thread comes off the spool easily. It has finished off at 42" X 64":

The original pattern called just for a Mommy and baby, but Amy wanted Daddy, Mommy, and Gracie. Soooo, that's where my Cricut came in for resizing! I'm pretty pleased with this one. (and so is Amy, most importantly!) Now all I need to do is sandwich it, quilt and bind it....hoping to do that this week and next weekend. Will keep you posted!

  OK, it's time for Talladega...I still love that NASCAR track...gotta run and watch it! 

Til next time, Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars~~~~ 

Beth

Reggae, crafting and springtime

   Good morning! It's quite a lovely day here. We had a fun weekend watching my son and his band Propaganjah at a VIP party on Saturday evening. Propaganjah is a local Reggae band that formed in 2017 here in Ocala. I'd heard of them when Steven and his band Skunkape would open for them in Gainesville. I never stayed to listen to them. Now my eldest son, Jeff, is bassist for them, so I am just now taking a good listen to them. They are pretty good. And all the guys in the band are fun loving, talented and just all around great guys. They are available on Spotify...give them a listen.

Spotify – Propaganjah

Jeff joined the band in January. He's very happy and having a great time with the group. 

I've been making bridal garters for a wedding we are attending in OK in April. I usually make the bride two...one for a keepsake and one to toss at the reception. Here's my progress so far:

This is the fancy keepsake one...Wrapped in Lace by Kirsten Holloway. I love the fanciness of this design. It's relatively simple and will have flowers, ribbons and beads on it when totally finished. I hate that all garters call for elastic. I don't use that; instead, I use the ribbon to tie it onto the brides thigh. That way, the tightness is more controlled. I will post a pic when it is totally complete. 

The other one is Something Blue by Emma Willey. It is simple yet elegant. Bridal Blue with white ribbon

Almost done. Wedding is April 9th and I want to mail them this week. I guess I'd better get going. But as most of you know, I'm the queen of procrastination, lol. 

I am just now working on my February gnome from Repeat Crafter Me.....this is the hdc version. 

I am trying to make two of each month...the original hdc version and the dc version. They are cute and fun to make....using up lots of my stash yarn for this project! Goal is to not buy anymore but use what I have....  

On the quilting front, I've had a jelly roll that I bought from Joann's last year that I've been wanting to use in a pattern called Brick Wall. It's an old original Craftsy pattern that I've used for a few baby quilts. I wanted to make something for me with this fabric...it should be lap quilt size, as it's only 20 strips in the jelly roll. 

The above are some of the units cut from the strips. Now it's just to sew them together.

This is what the final pattern looks like with the units sewed together. I will post my pic when I've gotten that far. 

I've also been playing with my embroidery machine. I managed to get one towel out, for St. Patrick's day, after much frustration and broken needles (due to my thread winding around the thread spool and making it hard for the thread to unwind as it's supposed to, causing tight thread and broken needles...ugggghhh)))

But it was so worth it....I adore anything Snoopy......  

I have also been commissioned to make this quilt for a friend at work:

She wants it in light colors for her first granddaughter due in May. I showed her the fabrics I have on hand and she was very happy with it. Amy told me to use my artistic talents and have fun. I can't wait to start it on my vacation. Then I can concentrate on only getting this one right!!!

And how do I know Spring is here? The thistles at the top of my driveway are blooming! 

Every year when I see them it makes me smile to think of Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore's love of the tasty flowers. These photos were taken closer to night time, so there weren't any bumble bees in them. The bees usually are buzzing around them during the day.

  And yes, it was a definite full moon this weekend.......

The sky was actually more pink than orange, but I couldn't capture it. This is looking west down my road from the top of my driveway. The picture does not do justice to the beauty .

Ok..that's it for now. Until next time...have a great day..keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars!!!!  (Always one of my favorite quotes..thank you Kasey Kasem!!!)

Take care,

Ponykeg

Birthdays, kayaking, family & friends and the promise of spring....

  It's a lovely day here in Florida. Supposed to be up in the 80's today.. I hope to spend time in my sewing room, working on a few things. But let me get you up to date with what's been going on around here.

  Pruning trees, celebrating my birthday on the water, and dealing with Covid...both at work and at home...yuck..

All of the above are pics from my backyard this morning. Our dogwood is blooming, my big ole bamboo froze (but there's green in there...so hopefully it will make a recovery....)  You can't see the yellow honeysuckle flowers, but they are there...I will post when it is in full bloom. Reminds me of my mom's forsythia bush growing up. I loved that bush....I knew spring was here when the yellow flowers appeared.

  My regal companion Slash (yes, he was named after the famous guitarist...) is ever present when I am outside. He runs around like a Flash, zipping around the yard and gathering his toys, repositioning them in the yard for the feral cats that live near us to play with. He does like to share. Believe me, he is not usually this calm. I usually get blurred pics of him as he is ALWAYS on the move....

Fiona, however, prefers to sun herself on the back porch and watch Slash zip around. Poor baby has worse Florida allergies than I do. Her eyes are forever red and watery when the pollen count is high...and it's supposed to be in the 80's and dry today.

The picture below is of most of my family on our kayaking adventure on the Rainbow River for my birthday. My boys all know how much I love to be on the river, so we all got together for a celebratory float on Feb. 13. Nicole and Xander were missing, but hopefully soon they will be able to join us. I cannot wait for my little pumpkin to be out there with us. 

Once I figure out how to post the videos, I can show you that Tim and Steve are still kids at heart...even though it was overcast and cool, they spent a lot of the time IN the water. 

It was a great day with my most favorite people. Not many other folks on the river, either, as it was Superbowl Sunday. It was nice having the Rainbow to ourselves. Soon the weather will turn nice and the tubers, boaters, canoers and fellow kayakers and paddleboarders will crowd the river. 

  There is a certain cove on the river that is home to my favorite blue heron. He did not disappoint and was there. I love his elegance and beauty. 

And then we went to the house to fry a turkey (one of my favorites) in our oiless  fryer and have a mini superbowl party. It was made all the more special because my favorite little man, Xander, was there. He is such a happy little boy, constantly on the move and always makes me smile. I was baby sitting him one day, he ran up to me all of a sudden, threw his arms around my neck and gave me the biggest hug. First time he did that all by himself. Made my week. 

  Here he is running around the house in my marine pith helmet... all I could think of was Rick Moranis as Big Helmet in Spaceballs. 

My almost 17-yr old Pauly Walnuts was not impressed

But little man had a blast, so that is all that matters. 

I also was able to go out for drinks with a couple of my friends. Could it be that the world could be slowly returning to normal? I sure hope so. I so miss hanging out and having times out with my family and friends. 

Ok, it's time I hit my sewing room so I have some crafty things to show you next time. But I will leave you with a couple of pics that make me smile the most

And Nicole sent this to Bob and I captioned "when your HOA says you have to water your lawn" Yes my friends, it has been THAT warm in Florida...Sure did make me laugh on Monday.

Happy weekend and keep on smiling!!!

Til next time, 

ponykeg  💘💗💕

 Good morning fellow crafters!

   I realize it's been quite a hiatus I have taken from the blogging world, but I am hoping to be back in the swing of things....These past few years have definitely been challenging, fun, frustrating and joyous! 

 We have taken up kayaking. We live close to the Rainbow River in Florida. It's the clearest water I have ever seen. I love being on the river and taking pictures of the wildlife (especially the birds), It's so peaceful and relaxing. 

This old man heron is my favorite. 

  I have always enjoyed being outdoors...and this is a way I can enjoy the summer days in Florida, lol.

  I have also taken up quilting, thanks to my former boss lady at the VA. I have become obsessed with fabric. I have collected a few sewing machines and an embroidery machine. It's such fun. I have made quite a few panel quilts and one really big pieced quilt...involving pink, white and the Dallas cowboys...white is an ok color, but anyone who knows me, knows I despise the color pink. I am also a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan. So this 75 x84 inch quilt took me two years.....

And I made a zipper quilt for my daughter in law when I found she was pregnant in 2019.

Nicole likes tie dye and hippy colors, so I found these colors and made it for her. 

I am still crocheting, albeit sporadically. I purchased a shed for me yard to store my yarn so that I could store my newfound passion for fabric in the house. Right now, I am working on RepeatCrafterMe gnome of the month squares. They are cute and fun to make. Check them out here:

January Winter Gnome Crochet Hook and C2C - Repeat Crafter Me

And now on to Xander!

Grandson Alexander Orion was born at 7:45p on September 4, 2019. He has been an absolute joy to our family since that date and time

Xander loves music, being outside and generally being a kid. He's a busy bee AT ALL TIMES...and I love it! 

  Ok, I just wanted to touch base with you all and see if I remembered how to do this! I will work on my blog and share me projects and life stuff with y'all. Stay safe and have a great day!!! And remember...

TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO MAKE IT A GREAT DAY!!!

Beth