Crowns for Queenie

A couple months ago I was pondering what in the world to give my aunt for her big upcoming milestone birthday: 75!!  She's impossible to shop for.  Plus, I like making stuff...so this happened:

If by chance you have read my previous post titled, "A Bag Fit for the Queen", you'll already know a little bit about my beloved Frannie.  "Queenie" is what we call her, and rightly so.

Frannie is a Maine-er, and you don't find too many couches in Maine without a blanket thrown over it.  I thought a new quilt would be perfect for her winter nights curled up in front of the TV hollering at the Celtics and the bad referree-ing...one of her favorite pastimes.

It didn't take me long to think of a good motif for the Queen's quilt.  Crowns!  Duh!  So I started sewing pieces together and trying to make something that somewhat resembled a crown.  Then I thought...well Queenie needs a crown for every occasion.  So these are what emerged:

This is her Glamour Crown.  She wears this one when she paints her toenails and gets all dolled up to go out with her girlfriends for Church Suppers and such.  The buttons are shinier in person. :)

This is her Housework Crown.  She wears it when she's scrubbing her "throne".

Here is her Business Crown.  This alerts everyone around when "Frannie Means Business"

This fancy one is her Coronation Crown.  When she puts this one on, we know it's time to roll out the Red Carpet.

Here is her Card Game crown.  Because come on...it's just fun.  She hopes the bright colors will distract the boys team so that the girls can win a hand for a change.

This huge crown is worn only for special occasions.  It seems to provoke things like free first-class upgrades and opening up of the car door.  It let's 'em know that someone important has come to town.

Frannie's Princess Crown is always accompanied by the sweetest, meekest smile she can muster and maybe a bat of the lashes.  She puts this on when she's picked something pricey out of the Lands End Catalog for Christmas.

Last but not least is the Cookin' Crown.  It is the most glorious of all. She adorns this heavyweight when she's cookin' up her magic in the kitchen.  I hope she will remember who made her this crown in particular the next time she bakes a batch of cookies.  She might get the urge to send a Priority box to Wisconsin.


Although I wasn't able to be in Maine at Frannie's 75th birthday celebration, I was fortunate enough to see her on Skype when she opened up her quilt.  The party go-ers got a good laugh, and so did Frannie.  Ironically enough, her two loving sons had a custom birthday cake made for her that said, "Happy 75th Birthday Queenie".  We did not coordinate.  When the planets align, they sure do get it right! 

Happy Big One, Queenie!!  xoxo