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