Book Signing Sunday November 22

Hey Y'all,

I'll be signing copies of my book at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum on Sunday. There's a big shindig to celebrate a new installation showing off quilts from the Joyce Gross Collection, which is part of the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin. Now THAT's a mouthful. I'll be there from 1 - 3 pm. Even if you can't make it to see me in all my splendor, I hope you get a chance to check out the quilts.

Spike

New Book, New New Book, Houston and Titty Tats

Wow, my life is SO CRAZY right now. So crazy. I just checked Amazon and the new quilt book-- Quilting Art-- is actually doing really well. Hooray! I haven't had a second to promote it since the next quilt book, Quilts Around the World, is due to the publisher on Thursday. I'm done with the writing but am still putting finishing touches on over 300 photo captions. Plus I started an AWESOME new job last week. Plus I have five little articles I have to wrap up by Friday. No, I am not sleeping.

I will be in Houston for IQF. I can only attend one day this year, Sunday, and I'll actually be giving a talk from 1 til 2. Not even sure which room-- the theater I think? Am trying to find out but the folks who run IQF are so busy running IQF they aren't emailing me. I totally understand. So I'm just going to show up on Sunday with my talk and a smile and hope it goes well. If you're there please stop by and say hello.

Meanwhile, despite all this busy-ness, I took some time to stop and write a love letter to my favorite knit shop. You can read the love letter here.

I hope you're all pumped for Houston. And I hope that you will kindly tell folks about Quilting Art-- there's more info about it as well as a link to order it in the post below this one.

Spike

Welcome Back to You *and* Me

Hey Y'all,
Welcome back, or welcome for the first time. It's true I started this blog sometime ago, and then I neglected it terribly. It's not because I'm one of those people who likes the idea of blogging but, in reality, can't blog. It's that I write so many blogs-- my personal blog over at www.spikeg.com, the blog for Hill Country Weavers, the blog for Knitting and Yoga Adventures plus other stuff here and there-- that I ran out of time to write about quilts. Also, the other thing that kept me away was that I've been working my butt off researching my next book, a history of quilts from around the world. I have worked with countless experts who are writing pieces for the book. I've been in touch with scholars and museum curators all around the world, collecting info and photos.

I am in the super final homestretch of that book now, and I am WIPED OUT.

This week, in an effort to recharge, I am on vacation, away at a knitting and yoga retreat on Monhegan Island, Maine. The weather, company, and knitting here are all exquisite. You can read all about it if you click the link about for Knitting and Yoga Adventures.

I'm trying to keep work down to an absolute minimum but my wonderful editor, Margret, gently pointed out to me that folks are posting the link to this blog, now that my book, Quilting Art (pictured above) is about to be released. So I thought I'd at least stop by and say hello. Ori and I are beyond thrilled about Quilting Art-- Ori is my boyfriend, my domestic partner, and he took many (many) of the photos in the Quilting Art book. He also knows far more about quilts than he ever imagined, and he has spent countless (I mean literally countless) hours listening to me ponder, fret, and occasionally rant over one quilt book deadline or another. (And, for the record, today is his birthday, so if you're reading this and you know Ori, by all means send him a little birthday shout out.)

Even as I type this I feel incoherent. If it were last week, the incoherence would've been born of exhaustion. This week, it's courtesy of that too-infrequent state of mind: over relaxation. I just got back from a two hour hike around the island, overlooking huge rocks cliffs that give way to the crashing Atlantic below, I have been laughing myself silly with all the hilarious women on this retreat with me. And I am eating like a queen.

So I shall now resume vacation. I will try to get back here with more regularity upon my return to reality next week. In the meanwhile, I would so appreciate you telling folks about the book. If anyone wants a signed copy, you can email me at spikegillespie@gmail.com to arrange that.

Thanks,
Spike