November Already?

I can't believe that today is actually November 1st!  Another year is almost over.  It really passed by so quickly.  Even with all of the trials and tribulations of this past year, I can honestly say that I'm sorry to see it is almost over.  Maybe that sorrow is because I still have TONS of stitching left to do!

This weekend turned out to be a great weekend for shopping and stitching.  On Friday my husband, my parents and I traveled about an hour north of our homes to a large outlet mall filled with great shops.  Hubby definitely made out with purchases from Nautica, Sketchers, Haggar and the Calphalon store.  We also picked up a few holiday gifts along the way as well.  Mom & I also made our standard trip to the Coach store.  Last time I went I couldn't find anything I liked, but this time I came home with a new purple purse and a new wallet.  Mom came home with the same purse and a wristlet.  (Good thing I don't mind my mom being a copycat......did I mention that we also purchased the same pair of sneakers from Sketchers?)

Saturday gave way to a little bit more shopping, but this time it was for a much needed shower curtain and some drapes for the great room.  Then I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening stitching with my stitching pals minus one.  I worked on trying to finish LHN's October, but alas the piece is cursed!  Remember all that trouble I had with September's border?  Well, turns out that I stitched October's border in the wrong color!  UGH!  If it were for me, I would just leave it, but it is for a model.  I CAN'T LEAVE IT!  So, there will be a little more frogging on it before I get it done.  I'll be so happy to get these stupid things done!  Oh......wait.......I still have to finish November and December!  Sigh.....  Well, maybe they won't be cursed like the last grouping.

The "fun" part of the weekend happened late Saturday night into Sunday morning.  It turns out the the Quest fittings on our hot water heater broke and there was water everywhere in the second bedroom.  I cleaned it up as best I could and Hubby took care of shutting down the water heater and the main water.  I called the HVAC guy since he put the water heater in (it is part of our HVAC unit).  He ended up coming out Sunday around 11am, but worrying about the ceiling caving in kept me up all night.  I think I got about two hours of sleep. 

The only good thing that resulted from my insomnia is that I am now almost finished with my memorial/memory sampler.  I only have one word, about a dozen eyelet stitches and a few tiny motifs to finish.  If I can get some time in tonight I could have a happy dance.  Then I will be off to find the perfect frame.  I'm going to try to frame this one myself since it is a special piece, but my favorite framer is still on call if I run into problems.

So, since this year is really running away, I think I need to set a few goals for the next two months.  Here goes:

1. Finish stitching on the memory/memorial sampler. 
2. "Finish" and mail my exchange piece for my private exchange since I didn't get to it yesterday.  (Dang hot water heater!)
3. Finish up those (dang) monthlies for Sharon.
4. Stitch, finish and mail something for the Blackbird Designs Exchange Round 6.  It is due to go out on November 30th, so I still have a little time.  I'm pretty sure of what I'm going to stitch, so that gets me that much closer to finishing that!
5. Attempt to self frame "Seaside Memories" by The Sampler Girl. If not, that one will get whisked off to my favorite framer.
6. Stitch and finish an ornament for the ornament exchange with my Saturday Stitching Buddies.  We talked about exchanging on December 4th, so I've got a little time.
7. Stitch and finish at least fifteen ornaments for Christmas gifts. (Uh, oh.....I might have to revise that number and hopefully down instead of up!)

Here's to hoping that November slows down a bit.  After all, I'm sure we could all use some additional holiday stitching time.

Happy Stitching!