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 :)

Thank you for your Patience!

 

I know it has been ages, almost a month I think since I have posted last.  I feel terrible about it, but there hasnt been much progress on my stitching.  As you can see, it has taken me almost a month to fill in this cloud.  A MONTH!!!!!!  I have been very, very busy, and continue to be so, but I have managed to get in some time this past few days to stitch this cloud.  It seemed eternal.  Easy though, not to have to watch the pattern, but forever with the filling in.

Not much to report otherwise, I appreciate all of you who regularly visit my blog to see if I have posted something yet...... and to all those who have commented and emailed, to hope all is well with me.  Yes, it is very well, just very busy.  I have been able to scan some of my favorite blogs, not much time to comment and chat.  I miss it terribly!!  Everyone is moving along so wonderfully on their pieces, I love the progress on Sarah Woodham so many of you are making, and Ann Reyner.  Wow, I cant wait to get my hands into those projects, although I dont see that happening too soon.  

I know that Nashville market has come and gone, and I havent even had much time to see what is new!!  It is hard to keep up with all the new projects and gossip!!  Wow!!!

I noticed yesterday that I have had my blog now for over 1 year.  It is fun to see what I was working on this time last year.  How many projects I accomplished.  It sure is a great way to keep a 'diary' of what has gone on in life.   Gosh, I wonder if I will finish 1 this year?!  Yes, I think/hope at least 1!!!  

I am hoping to get some time in the next few weeks to stitch more on PL, and hope to post more in March then in February.  No promises though!  Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!!!

Banner done!

This is my progress on PL!  What a relief to get that banner done. I wasnt going to just do the whole thing, but I am glad it is out of the way.  I am happily stitching the cloud--but last night I began to panic a bit, I didnt realize that the cloud was not centered with the banner.  HUH?  How could it be that off?!!  I scrambled for the picture and  luckily saw that I was not off at all.  Thank goodness :)  I dont really look at the picture when I am stitching, just the graph, so I guess I wasnt paying to much attention.  Non- the- less, I hope to be filling in the cloud later today.

I wonder what tomorrow will bring for PL?!

Grammys Anyone?

 

 

Anyone watch the Grammy Awards last night?  We did...we watched 2 different ways.  Back in the City of Angels, we decided to hit the carpet running!   Here are just a few pics from our afternoon out.  We did alot of sightseeing yesterday.   The red carpet for the Grammys was a sight to see- if anyone has been to a red carpet event, this one is definately different then the typical Movie premiere.  This is a covered event, unlike the Oscars, and it was very hard to see anyone.  We got a few shots in, and it was so fun watching limo after limo after limo pull into the street-- and wait to see who would be rushed out.  Since we were there really early, we didnt get to see Beyonce & Jay Z or Lady Gaga or Taylor Swift, but we did see Shir Shomron (the gal in the orange flowing dress).  Inside the tent were glorious chandeliers and lights everywhere.  The last pic shows Chandeliers for the after party-- They are just spectacular-- sparkling in the sun. 

After playing Paparazzi for a while, we went and grabbed a bite to eat on Sunset Blvd., and ended up rubbing elbows with Adrian Grenier from Entourage (HBO), he plays Vincent Chase.  He was very close, and had his buddies with him. No pics of him though, we put our cameras to bed and just took it all in.  I didnt want to be Stalk-erazzi :)  What a great time.  I love Los Angeles, love to get dressed up-- for no reason what so ever.  We are meeting up with friends and relatives in the next bit, I know it will be great fun.  As always!!!!

I do have PL updates, but I will wait until tomorrow to post, I have to get the iron out and make it look presentable.  We shall see it soon enough!  Hope everyone enjoyed there weekend!!  Thanks for the comments on my stash, I have an idea on which to do next, but that could change-- in an LA minute!!!

New Stash!!

First of all, I changed to the 'new blogger' editor, which so many of you have done already, and I really just have no idea!  So here goes nothin.

I havent really worked on Paradise Lost in the last 10 days, I have no excuse either-- just life in general has been taking up my time.  I also dont have any other projects lying around, so I did get a few new ones I was excited to share.  All this talk of Scarlet Letter charts, gets me fired up and I have had a list going.  I did order some, I am waiting for them to come in.  In the meantime, I found these that I couldnt resist.

The top picture is Red Lion from The Essamplaire, and it reminds me of All was for an Appil from the Scarlet Letter.  This to me is the 'Garden of Eden'.  I ordered the Appil one, seeing Deb and others start this, I couldnt resist. 

Next you can see The Seduction & The Huntsman both from Scarlet Letter.  Very different then I am used to, but I need a break from the alphabets!!!!! I just love the colors, which is also very off for me, because I dont go for too much color.  Gotta step out of the box right?

Next to choose some Linen (45ct maybe!!!) and silks (of course), these will be great to work on, but I know, PL has to come first.  I am in the mood to stitch today, which is a good thing.   Which one to choose to do next though?

Good Morning Sunshine!

After the super cold weather, this gorgeous site is exactly what was needed to cheer me up. I love waking up with this view!!! The weather here in Florida has been in the 70's, a beautiful thing over 7 degrees last week. Although the weather has not inspired me to do much stitching, it has been an exciting week.

Visiting with my Cousins again is always great. Relaxing, sharing stories and laughing. Lots of walks, enjoying this gorgeous weather. I love the sand, looking for seashells, feeling the water hit my feet.



Here is my progress on PL, if you can call it that! I am not looking forward to the blue band that stretches all the way across the design, but I know as soon as it is done, it will be fabulous. It's moving, slowly but surly.

I am glad you all enjoyed the pics from NY and I enjoyed reading all of your comments. Thank you for them, I always enjoy comments. It is fun to share things with all of you!

Have a great week, I will try my best to get some more stitching done--- we shall see!