Fall? Fall? Is That You?

There are many things that herald the approach of fall.  Here at the farmhouse, flocks of geese passing overhead are an enjoyable herald.

The geese actually pass by during the approach of spring as well as the approach of fall.  We are apparently on their migrating path.  I have always loved seeing ... & hearing ... the geese.  Early in the morning when I wake up I usually lie in bed for a while & look out the window which faces our front yard.  I will usually see at least 1 flock of geese fly by & hear them honking.  It almost gives me the same feeling as seeing the snow fall ... & we all know how I feel about snow   : )

The first time I saw geese was when we were living in North Dakota.  We rented a house at the southern end of town & there was a large field across the street.  For some reason the geese liked to stop there.  There seemed to be hundreds of them.  Then when we moved to the UP of Michigan the geese would make a rest stop on the grounds of the building where my husband worked.  

I always thought it would be a good thing to make a flying geese quilt.  I still think that's a good idea & one of these days I'm definitely going to make one.  I should probably first finish the other 7 or 9 quilts or however many it is that have been waiting for binding for the past 7 years or so ... lol!  For those of you who don't know what a flying geese pattern looks like, it traditionally follows this layout although there are several other pattern variations.  I like the traditional.  Mine will be scrappy.  I also like scrappy   : )  

  

And speaking of crafts ... yesterday I worked on my ornaments for the Christmas ornament exchange.  I just have to put on some finishing touches & then I can mail them out   : )   On Saturday night I worked on my cross stitch sampler but I have pretty much decided to put a stop to doing this particular design.  Here is the work I've done thus far.

Can you guess why I've decided to stop?  It's because of the coloring.  This pattern was designed back in the mid 80s.  See all those mid-80s country colors?  I hate them!  I gathered the skeins of floss called for in the pattern & they looked fine in my hand but when I started stitching I thought "uh-oh."  So I decided I would just start the project again using darker, more prim colors.  Last night I sat underneath my daylight lamp with all my floss & chose the colors I thought would work.  However, my heart just isn't in it.  This is one of those "it was a good idea, but" projects.

Today I have to find a doll pattern to start working on.  I signed up to be in a Kindred Spirit Doll Swap that Amy is hostessing over at Bumble Bee Lane.  I received my assigned person's information this morning.  This is going to be a bit difficult for me because this person's #1 choice is a type of doll that I have never made before.  Well, if nothing else I know whose doll patterns to avoid ... lol!