Happy news! I've been working on a quilting book with Stash Books (
C&T Publishing) for the last few months. If you saw me at QuiltCon or are a member of my guild, you might already know, but I wanted to announce it publicly here for a few reasons.
First, I'm really excited! Unfortunately, I can't talk about anything content-related until 2018, but I promise I'll explain more then. That seems a long time away, but it really isn't (scary for me!).
Second, as you can surely imagine, writing a book is a h.u.g.e. endeavor, and
it is, quite deservedly, taking up a significant portion of my free
time. So far, I'm loving the process and I'm thrilled to work with the
helpful staff at C&T. I've also lined up small projects to
give myself some "fun" sewing (though so far, all the book sewing has
been really, really fun).
For the next few months, blogging
will be a little less than usual sometimes (like the past couple of
weeks). I want to be clear about why since some have noticed I've dropped off the radar a bit.
I've also decided to hold off on a summer quilt-a-long for the
first time in several years; I'll be finishing up the book and moving house all
at once, so even though I have a couple enticing QAL ideas, those two
endeavors are main priorities! I hope to run a fun QAL in the fall, though (we'll see - if not, January). The
Wonky Press will run as usual, 2x a month (1st and 15th day).
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Why did I decide to write a book? Several reasons. As a traveling quilting teacher and lecturer, it often crosses my mind that it would be quite swell to have my own book in tow. Not just to sell (yes, money is an important part of what I do) but also to engage my students and have a physical reference that contains my own work and methods. These are the main reasons I've decided to sign a book contract. I want to help quilters and grow my business!
The other reasons are, as follows: I have some ideas I want to share in an official way. I've always wanted to write a book (never did I imagine it'd be on this subject, though; my 10-year-old self always imagined I'd be a novelist). I love to sew. I love to teach. I love to write. All of those things combined.
How did this all start? I'd thought about it for awhile but decided to build up my classes and lectures first before pursuing anything. Roxane at C&T contacted me a year ago (I can't believe it's been that long), and I wrote up a proposal. Then, I signed a contract in November. I've been sitting on this news for a while. :) Those of you that have known - you've been so supportive. Thank you.
Surprisingly, I *do* have a large quilt finish to share later this week as part of RJR's What Shade Are You? blog hop (sneak peeks above). I'll also be attending and teaching at
Mid-Atlantic Mod quilting retreat in Lancaster, PA this week, and I hope to have a recap next week all about it!