Quilt Fest in Jonesborough, TN

I am getting ready to go to Jonesborough, TN, charming little town, to teach at Quilt Fest. This is a yearly event organized by the quilt store Tennessee Quilts and lots of fun. Workshops are now held in a convention center in Johnson City. I am teaching some of my favorite subjects (hand quilting, crazy quilting with a modern twist) and the other is how to draw quilting designs. I know there are computer programs but for me, holding the pencil, drawing lines freely and seeing what happens when I reverse-combine-multiply the image with tracing paper, is such a pleasure and one of the design steps I enjoy the most.
So for now, the new piece I have in my head and just started working on has to wait! I have done some drawings and I have started building the structure that will be covered with embroidered/quilted fabric but this is really not much.

It's done!

My new "Offerings" piece is finally finished. I called it "Essence" and I will let you find your own interpretation. All I will say is that it was not a random choice. I am still not sure if I am completely satisfied with the piece or only with parts of it. Most likely if I have doubts, it is because something in my brain knows what I consciously can't put my finger on. I will see what other people have to say. Any comments on your part?
Here are some images (just snapshots for the moment!
"Essence", closed

And a close-up

And guess what is inside?

A beautiful little lampworked vial that I commissioned from glass artist Teresa Brittain of Oak Ridge ,Tennessee.

Fiber exhibit at Cloth Fiber Workshop

I found out this weekend that my piece "Reliquary" was accepted for the "Exploring Surface Design: Surface Design Techniques in Clay & Fiber" exhibit at Cloth Fiber Workshop in Asheville, NC. The opening will be on Friday, August 1 from 6 to 9 pm and will run to the end of August. If you have not been at Cloth Fiber Workshop before, this is a wonderful opportunity to see a great exhibit as well as check out this venue, where cool classes are offered and where you can purchase difficult-to-find natural fabrics. Check out the website, www.clothfiberworkshop.com, for more information and directions.
In the studio here, my new "Offerings" piece is just about finished. At this point, I think I am pleased with it but I will need a few days to decide for sure! Do you also have that feeling, after you have worked intensively on a piece, that you really don't know anymore if you like it or not? It is difficult at that point to have a fresh, objective perspective!