3 in 30 - November Goals and Update #1

For November, I have set the following three goals as part of the 3 in 30 challenge:

1. Do at least 10 Thanksgiving-theme activities. Last month we enjoyed doing the 13-day Countdown to Halloween. I went through my Thanksgiving file at home as well as images I found on Pinterest that look like fun activities to do, recipes to make, or traditions to begin. 

Embroidered Journal Quilt that 

I made in November 2010.

I selected items from my file as well as looked up each of the pins I marked on Pinterest. After printing them out, I arranged them in order that I would like to do them. There is a nice variety of recipes, crafts, and other activities that will make this month a fun and memorable one.

2. Clean four small areas in the home. There are several areas that I haven't yet worked on during the year-long de-cluttering and organization project I've been doing. During November, I would like to clean the linen/medicine cabinet; finish cleaning the kitchen (under the sink, the remaining cupboards, and drawers); the corner in the mudroom; and my desk.

I have not cleaned and organized any of these areas yet this month. 

3. Get up to date with projects that I fell behind on while working on my Dad's 808-page book that I completed in October. During October I focused my energy on completing the book that I had been working on since my father's death in January. Since it was a time-consuming project, I didn't have a chance to work on other projects (e.g., Take a Stitch Tuesday, Embroidery Journal Project, African Library Project). By the end of the month, I would like to be back on track with each of the year-long projects I've been doing.

I found three patterns for hand-embroidered toys that I want to make and give away through The Toy Society. One is for October (which I haven't done yet); and the other two are for November and December. I cut out the pattern pieces and am now ready to trace them onto felt, cut the felt pieces, and hand-embroider them.

For the Take a Stitch Tuesday project, I realized - as I look at the four stitches that were presented as ones to learn during the past four weeks - that none of them would be ones that I would do again (e.g., too labor-intensive for a small stitch/area covered, the stitch sits awkwardly off the fabric). 

So, I found four other embroidery stitches that I would do in the future. I also picked out the fabric for the samplers. This weekend I hope to complete all four samplers (they are small, so it shouldn't take a huge block of time). 

For the Embroidery Journal Project, I have the design elements for the embroidered quilt square that I want to do to represent October. This weekend I would like to transfer the designs to the fabric and begin stitching.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Also, if you missed reading how I did on Weeks #3 and #4 for October, I combined them into one post.  There are pictures and links to recipes that I made during the month on the 13 theme days.

I felt very happy with the progress I made last month (even though I didn't fully complete all of the goals); and definitely replaced some of the more difficult memories that happened a year ago at this time with positive ones.