I know, I know; it’s been a long time. I usually let you know if I’m
taking some time off but this time I don't know what happened. At first I was too busy to make anything, then I think I was too tired to.
I think I mentioned before that I was taking driving lessons. They
started once a week back in May. My test was originally set for the end of July
but I had to reschedule because I wasn’t ready. I rescheduled it for September
13th, my grandfather’s birthday – I knew it would be a good omen. My
grandfather was the family driver. I spent the first 6 years of my life riding
in the car with him. He seemed to love to drive, and family members would ask
him to drive when they took trips; New York, DC, Baltimore. He even drove to
North Carolina twice to take me and pick me up from college my freshman year.
The closer it got to September 13th the more frequent my
lessons became including three lessons the week before the test. Why? Because I
took a mock exam and failed miserably. I started having panic attacks, took
another mock exam and passed. So I had a week of trying not to stress myself to
the point of another panic attack. Chamomile tea, valerian root and lots of
comedy.
Test day came and I was stressed but it was manageable. The examiner
had me drive around lots of tiny streets where I drove slowly and had to pull
over a lot. We returned to the test center and he told me I passed. What a
relief! My instructor told me I could breathe again.
Besides the driving I can’t remember what I’ve been doing; life seems
a bit of a blur right now. I visit my neighbor two doors down twice a week.
We’ve been going to appointments, plus the usual grocery shopping. And I’ve
been to London a few times to meet a friend. I’ve also been trying to get
caught up on cleaning. I was given a large flat screen TV (which has since
broken) and I rearranged our bedroom to accommodate it. I got some under bed
storage totes and organized my seasonal clothes. I’m trying to crack down in
the creepy crawlies that come with living out in the country; vacuuming, making
peppermint sprays and spraying around the house to deter the outdoors from
coming in.
A while ago though I was visiting my neighbor, she gets lots of
catalogs delivered and told me to look through one and I saw something amazing.
A book to store earrings in. I have been looking for a way to store the
finished earrings that I have in stock. I saw the book and thought it was a
brilliant idea. But why pay £30 for a tiny book that only hold a few pair? I
looked at the book and said I can make a large one!
We went to Tescos for our weekly shop, just before school started
binders were on sale for 70p. Okay, the binders were hot pink, but what the
heck. Then I ordered some fabric online for £6.00. Thread, hemming ribbon and
double sided tape I already had.
I had a few ideas for how I would make this work. When you buy
factory made books they used specific fabric, like the kind you find at jewelry
stores. Unfortunately felt, microfiber and suede, i.e. all the fabric similar
to that is expensive. After one try I got it to work, but it doesn’t look like
exactly how I want it to look. I had more fabric so I tried it a different way. I made two different panels one longer and one wider. They still haven't come out the way I planned, so I may try a totally different approach now. I have
some more ideas I can try out; different materials and fabrics. I may need to get a wider binder but this isn’t
a bad start.
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