In all the Crowning Glory

A big thank you to all of you that have called, texted and emailed me in the last bit, wondering where I have been in the last few weeks.  It is very kind of all of you to be concerned and I had no idea really that I was missed that much.  It really means so much to me, and I am truly blessed to have all of you in my life.

The truth of the matter is, I have gone back to working full time, and it has really taken up ALL of my time.  Sometimes so much, I dont have time to finish my work in general.  I have to laugh, my husband told me to tell all of you that I needed to get a job in order to keep my stash going, the rate I was finishing my projects, he said I better do something!!!!  LOL.. And for all of you that do know my husband, you know he is totally joking and loves these samplers as much as I do.

I cant believe that Nashville has come and gone, and I really did miss most of it.  I dont really get a chance to read all of my favorite blogs much, but once in a while I will glance at it and see that everyone is moving along still with all of their great pieces. Just know that I will return to a normal pace soon.....I hope anyway.   I am still hoping to get PL done........this year?!

I wanted to share with all of you a great exhibit I attended while in South Florida a few weeks ago.  Of course, anything Royalty and with sparkle I am all over.  I couldnt believe the luck, the first time in the US this tour of over 40 Royal Crowns.  In collaboration with a 'Silver' company, the crowns were displayed with fine china and real silver ware, the exact patterns that the owner of the crowns uses on a regular basis.  Nice. Some of the crowns on display were original crowns, many exact replicas.  Some were enclosed in glass cases, many were out in the open, right on the table in front of me.  Of course, I asked if we could take photos, and we could for sure.  I was escorted though-out the exhibit with a gentleman from the 'silver' company and he told me about each one, and the fine china and silverware.  I felt like royalty myself :)  I have some info under each photo, some have more then others.

This photo is the crown of Indiah Prince's Coronet, (original).  1800 Portuguese, India, loose openwork design made of silver, set with various colors of stone. 

Imperial Crown of Napoleon I, exact replica.  The original is in the Louvre in Paris.

 Imperial Crown of Russia.  Of course one of my favorite pieces, and I cant remember much about it.....Just that it sparkled tremendously :)

Royal Diadem of Tutankhamun.  Amazing right?!

Crown of Queen Elizabeth; wife of King George VI of England.  Made of gold, silver and platinum.  Is completely paved with diamonds.  From the possession of Queen Victoria, traditional diamond crosses & lilies are fixed.  Alternating over the tiara, a breathtaking focus is the legendary 'cohinoor' (mountain of light) of 108.39 carat & also the famous 'Star of Africa'.  The original is located in the Tower of London.

British State Crown.  This is a full example of how alot of the crowns were on display in the exhibit.  Average cost of each place setting of 'silver'ware was $550 a set.  Nice right?  I am still deciding between the patterns I liked!!!  LOL.

Crown of the Dalai Lama, (Original)

Last but not least, the Tiara of the Shahbanou Farah Pahlari.  Made for the Shah of Persia when she was to be married.  Has 7 of the largest emeralds, the largest is 65 carats.

Impressive right?  I dont know if I would have seen 2 crowns in one place, let alone all these gorgeous pieces.  My guide said some of these weigh over 10 pounds too.  I cant even imagine, trying to eat with that gorgeous silverware and keep my head up......

I hope all of you enjoyed this little exhibit.  I appreciate all the concerns, but I am well, just a part of the working gals again!!!  No complaints, just need to buy time.  If any of you know where to buy some, please email me privately, so I can get some stitching done already!!!!!  I am keeping my fingers crossed :)