Tag Archives: quilt shows

hand quilting, Improvisational quilting, modern quilting, needle turn applique, QuiltCon, scrap quilts, squircles

Squircle Party

January 28, 2024 pennylanequilts 10 Comments

Squircle Party was completed in October, 2023, just in time to make the QuiltCon entry deadline.

It began with a bag of print scraps inherited from a friend and an overflowing basket of solid scraps of my own.

While thinking about possible ways to piece them together, I remembered seeing a fabulous, scrappy quilt by Karen Duling at QuiltCon 2022 with the clever title “Languishing Looks Like This”. You can find it and other wonderful quilts in her gallery. Karen cut all her scraps a consistent width, but mine vary between one inch and 2.5 inches. My goal was to leave each scrap its original width and length.

Piecing the strips provided a “leader/ender” opportunity while working on an improv pieced quilt. You can see the strips beginning to come together on the design wall with a wall hanging I was piecing simultaneously.

After piecing the strips, I began contemplating quilting plans. But while it was hanging out on the design wall waiting to be basted, I thought it might be fun to use the strips as a background and applique on large, colorful shapes. Squircles naturally came to mind. I cut the shapes mostly from linen and shot cottons and placed them randomly across the top.

Then I wondered what it would look like if I cut the center out of some of shapes.

I started moving them around looking for ways they related to each other. This involved a lot of time crawling around the floor, pinning, rearranging (and a bit of unstitching). As I hand appliqued them down, I continued making adjustments.

Once the shapes were appliqued, it was time to prepare for basting.

I wanted a backing that would show off the quilting in a different way and make the reverse side interesting in its own right. I combined large, scrappy color blocks with a variety of low volume fabrics.

Reverse side (after quilting, but before embroidering).

Using boards to baste works well for me and I prefer thread over pins.

Hand quilting is my favorite part of the process. The long lines of black stitching went fairly quickly. The density of quilting varies on the squircles.

Quilting demonstration at our local museum

Once the quilting was finished, I turned my attention to the back. Embroidery stitches were added to accentuate the quilting and create extra texture.

I was thrilled to receive the announcement that Squircle Party will be on display in the “Handwork” category at QuiltCon in Raleigh. This meant it needed a sleeve so I took a little extra time and created one that matched the piecing.

If you have the opportunity, I’d love you to have a peek at the reverse side. Just find one of those “white gloved” volunteers and ask for assistance. Which reminds me, I need to check my schedule and sign up to volunteer!

Hope to see you in Raleigh. I can’t wait to see all the quilts in the show and spend time with the special people who make them!

Squircle Party

54″ x 60″

Linen and commercial cottons

Machine pieced, hand appliqued, hand embroidered

Hand quilted

hand piecing, hand quilting, modern quilting, Quiltfest, temperature quilt

Highs & Lows of 2021 and 2022

January 21, 2024 pennylanequilts 2 Comments

Two of my long-term projects were completed in 2023. You can read about the initial process in this post where I describe the layout, fabric selection and piecing methods used in two temperature quilts.

Once the top was finished, it took a good portion of 2022 and 2023 to complete the quilting on my first temperature quilt. I used a combination of thread weights and it was time consuming to stitch around all those quarter circles. I also added embroidery to show the temperature ranges and to indicate the year and location of the temperature data.

High & Lows of 2021

67″ x 43″

Linen and commercial cottons

8 wt and 12 wt perle cotton

Hand and machine pieced

Hand quilted

The second temperature quilt was made with scraps from the previous quilt and each day’s temps are recorded in a one inch block. The quilt was finished using a combination of knot tying and hand quilting. The colonial knots are on the front and the surgical ties are on the back. I love the texture this created on both sides.

Highs & Lows of 2022

33″ x 22.5″

Linen and commercial cottons

8 wt perle cotton

Hand and machine pieced

Hand quilted and tied

Both of these quilts made their debut at the Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara in October 2023. It was an honor for each of them to receive an award for “Best Hand Workmanship” in their separate categories (from different sets of judges).

To date, I have now completed four quilts created by hand piecing a daily block over the course of a year. (A Squircle a Day and For the Love of Squircles are the other two.) I’ve started a new daily hand stitching project in 2024. Time will tell if it lasts 100 days or 365 days!

free motion quilting, hand quilting, improvisational piecing, Improvisational quilting, modern quilting, QuiltCon

Crevices

January 21, 2022 pennylanequilts 6 Comments

The quilt I’m sharing today is very different from Tiny Bubbles, in style, technique and process. I’m thrilled to announce that it is also headed to QuiltCon in Phoenix next month.

Crevices (40″ x 45.5″) machine pieced, hand quilted

Crevices began in a virtual workshop with Maria Shell @talesofastitcher which focused on freehand curve and circle techniques. The class was a sampler, but I was particularly intrigued by a technique Maria calls “braided curves”. I pieced a lot of these rectangular units using a controlled palette and began the task of creating a composition.

After about a month of manipulations on the design wall, I decided to edit out many of the units. As I worked, an image of light streaming into a canyon emerged in my mind.

Representational art is not my style and I struggled with how to create the abstract feeling of sunlight on geological structures without it becoming too literal. The palette also felt constrained, so I began adding in new shades as I pieced in additional curvy lines. This exercised my brain in such a good way!

Thread basting is my preference when hand quilting because I don’t like to snag my thread on pins.

The large, curved spaces invited me to add texture by hand quilting. It was so relaxing to stitch these wavy lines using a variety of perle cotton threads.

Originally, I had planned a faced edge, but in the end I decided to go with a pastel binding. I like the way it frames the piece, bringing the lighter shades from the center of the quilt out to the edges. (In real life, the binding is much straighter than the photo would suggest, I promise!)

And what did I do with all the pieces that were edited out of this composition? I created another quilt.

Placing the strips in a horizontal orientation, images of mountains, streams and valleys emerged. For this piece, I challenged myself to work quickly and intuitively, restricting myself to using the leftovers from Crevices. Meander is the result.

Meander (38″ x 36.5″) machine pieced, machine and hand quilted

Improving my free motion quilting skills is an ongoing goal of mine. I explored some organic filler designs and used many motifs from Christina Cameli‘s book, Step-by-Step Texture Quilting. Lots of thread changes and adjusting the motifs to fit the shapes took all of my concentration. About half way through, it was beginning to feel flat and stiff from all the dense quilting. Adding in sections of hand stitches softened the texture.

And what did I do with the leftovers? I still had lots of odd bits that I was determined not to add to the scrap bins, so potholders to the rescue! I donated these to the Friends of the International Quilt Museum to sell in the gift shop as a fundraiser.

Whenever I take a technique workshop, I feel that it shakes things up in my studio. Since I rarely use strip piecing techniques, creating these large units initially felt very quick and satisfying. However, I found it challenging to shape them into compositions. Every quilt teaches me something new!

Exhibits/Shows, hand piecing, hand quilting, modern quilting, QuiltCon

Tiny Bubbles

January 12, 2022 pennylanequilts 15 Comments

It’s been just over a year since my last post and there are a few projects I would like to document here. First up is Tiny Bubbles which began in August 2020 with a sew along hosted by Leslie Tucker Jenison and Michele Muska. We used Jen Carlton Bailly‘s smallest template to create tiny quarter circle units which Jen calls “curvelets”. Each unit finishes at one inch.

With no plan in mind, I liked the idea of hand piecing little blocks from my overflowing scrap bin. (Note to self: if you want to use up scraps, making little units is not a terribly efficient way to do so!) It was the first summer of the pandemic and I enjoyed tuning into the weekly Instagram Live chats with Leslie and Michelle. My process was to make a few units each day, watching them accumulate on the design wall.

At the end of the sew along, I began piecing the curvelets into 4 1/2 inch blocks, forming four circles made up of 16 units. I decided to assemble by machine because I’m not THAT crazy and I still wanted to see how large I could make the final piece before losing interest.

As you can see from this photo, there is some serious shrinkage going on here. The assembly required lots of pinning and careful piecing. Each day I continued to add more curvelets to the collection.

Life continued on in this way until June, 2021, when Jenn McMillan hosted the #100daysummersewalong to encourage any handwork project. I decided to participate and add one 4 1/2″ block a day consisting of four 2 1/2″ quarter circle units. During this time, I continued to assemble the smaller units into blocks.

One morning I came into the studio and the wind had blown over my portable design wall. My friend, Sarah Hibbert @quiltscornerstone thought it looked like they were trying to say something. I decided to put them back on the board and spelled out this “HELP” message. (It’s been a long two years of trying to entertain myself, what can I say?!)

At the end of the summer I decided it was time to reassess and come up with a plan. Looking back at my photos, it looks like I rearranged and added more blocks for about a month before I actually completed the top. Those poor little blocks were about worn out from all the action!

Basting time! I used a gray peppered cotton for the backing which is nice for allowing the quilting to show.

A straight line grid was quilted using the walking foot on my domestic machine. Then I hand quilted around the larger units using perle cotton thread.

Tiny Bubbles was accepted into QuiltCon 2022 in Phoenix and I am happy that people will be able to see it in person to appreciate the scale of the small units. This is the description that I sent with my entry:

Quilted during the pandemic, these tiny bubbles kept me occupied while isolated in my own small bubble. All of the quarter circles were traced from templates, cut with scissors and pieced by hand. The curved units were then assembled by machine.

Quilt details for those enquiring minds:

44″ x 44″

completed October 2021

curved units hand pieced

assembled on machine

292 (2 inch finished units)

368 (1 inch finished units)

1320 pieces of fabric

AQS, Exhibits/Shows, improvisational piecing, modern quilting, Modern Quilts: Designs of the New Century traveling exhibition, Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

Summertime

September 15, 2019 pennylanequilts Leave a comment

The summer adventures brought new experiences, challenges, skills…and awards!

In July, my husband and I traveled to Sisters, Oregon for Quilter’s Affair and the annual outdoor quilt show. We enjoyed a week of relaxing, camping, hiking, exploring and volunteering.

Our horse trailer (with bikes this time instead of horses) was our home base at the city’s Creekside campground. It is conveniently located to restaurants and we confess to starting each morning with a walk to the Sisters Bakery for coffee and a treat. I may have eaten a scone every morning and tried all the flavors. The marionberry was hard to beat!

I attended two classes. The first was with Jen Carlton Bailley making blocks with curved piecing using her acrylic templates. This was a totally new skill for me and Jen had lots of helpful hints for achieving accuracy.

In the other class with Sarah Fielke we created improvisational letters. Both of these classes really made me think! I haven’t had time to continue these explorations, but I hope to soon.

We volunteered to hang and take down quilts for the one day outdoor show. It takes lots of people to pull off this event!

Best of QuiltCon 2019 traveling exhibition at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt show. “Modern Times” by Jenny Haynes (@pappersaxsten) in foreground.

The day following the show, the ladders were out again and we helped hang and take down Carolyn Friedlander’s quilts over at the Five Pines Lodge. She was the featured quilter and gave a lecture and guided tours along the peaceful paths. It was special seeing her wonderful quilts all together in this setting.

Carolyn Friedlander’s quilts hanging at Five Pines Lodge, Sisters, OR

Carolyn Friedlander’s Eads quilt hanging at Five Pine Lodge

Upon returning home from Sisters, I finished the preparations for my lecture and hand quilting class up at the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, Washington. These events were in conjunction with the Modern Quilts: Designs of the New Century exhibition at the museum which I wrote about in my last post. The museum staff was absolutely gracious and so supportive.

I admit to being nervous as this was my first foray into speaking and teaching, but I really enjoyed meeting new quilting friends, talking about quilts and sharing my love of hand quilting.

Look at these dedicated hand stitchers!

In August, I found time to focus on my own hand quilting. I have some show deadlines that will require daily stitching progress.

And speaking of shows… in August, my quilt “At the Junction” placed first in the Modern category at the American Quilter’s Society (AQS) Quiltweek show in Grand Rapids. (If you want to learn this quilt’s story, I wrote a post about it here.)

This week I learned that “At the Junction” had also placed first in the Modern Category at the AQS Fall Paducah show. What an honor and thrill! This contest has a unique feature. It takes the first place quilts from each of the fifteen categories and lets the public choose the top seven awards, including the $20,000 Best of Show. There was only a 24 hour voting period.

You can imagine the excitement when the results were posted and I learned my quilt had placed “4th Overall” and won a major award. (There may have been some happy dancing here on Penny Lane.) Many thanks to all of you who voted and supported this quilt! I am very grateful and would like to thank all the sponsors who make the awards possible.

photo courtesy of Cassandra Beaver, “At the Junction”, Fall Paducah 2019

If you are curious, the complete awards results are listed here. AQS also put the award ceremony with Victoria Findlay Wolfe on their QUILTTV YouTube channel if you’d like to see all of the award winners in each category as they are announced. For those unable to attend, it is a wonderful way to participate virtually. I am so inspired by all the wonderful quilts and the amazing attention to detail by these talented makers.

“At the Junction” will travel on to the AQS Charleston Quiltweek , September 25-27, for one more show before returning home.

After all the excitement, I am ready to get back in the studio to explore new ideas and focus on some hand stitching!

Modern Quilts: Designs of the New Century traveling exhibition, MQG, workshops

Modern Quilts exhibition at the Whatcom Museum

June 21, 2019 pennylanequilts 3 Comments

The traveling exhibition for Modern Quilts: Designs of the New Century is at the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, Washington this summer. They have partnered with the Pacific Northwest Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum and the Bellingham Modern Quilt Guild to provide lots of opportunities to explore modern quilting. All the details, including lectures, workshops and special events are on their websites.

The opening reception was a preview party for members on May 31. I arrived early and enjoyed this wonderful showcase of quilts made by the Bellingham Modern Quilt Guild members lining the hallway of the Lightcatcher Building.

The reception was very well attended and I enjoyed meeting members of the Bellingham guild as well as the staff from the Whatcom and LaConner museums. The highlight was having my sister-in-law and niece join me for the festivities.

family with Trestle Nestle by Marla Varner, penny lane quilts — Trestle Nestle, Marla Varner and a glimpse of Skewed Symmetry, Katie Pedersen

The exhibition includes 63 quilts from the book, Modern Quilting: Designs of the New Century. The gallery is spacious and beautiful. Just look at the reflections on the shiny floor!

Chess on the Steps, Krista Hennebury; Tessellation 4, Nydia Kehnle; For Tanya, Emily, E.D. Coffey and Miriam C.K. Coffey; I Quilt, Kathy York

Migration Quilt, Kristi Schroeder and Lee Jenkins; X Quilt, Stacey Sharman; Trestle Nestle, Marla Varner; Skewed Symmetry, Katie Pedersen

The American Context #68, Double Elvis, Luke Haynes; Welcome to Colorful Colorado, Katie Larson; Merge, Kamie Hone Murdock

These are just a few of the beauties on display. I hope you will have the opportunity to visit and see them all!

The Bellingham Modern Quilt guild has a display called Modern Twist and their minis showing modern interpretations of the sawtooth star block.

Ask a Quilter! Guild members are demonstrating techniques and answering questions each Saturday afternoon from 2:30-4:30 in the gallery.

Bellingham MQG members (Breathe, Leanne Chahley; Jumble, Betsy Vinegrad in background)

There are also docent-led tours scheduled each week.

On June 8th, I made the trek up to Bellingham again to hear a panel discussion entitled Material Men Speak. Geoff Hamada, Scott Hansen, David Owen Hastings and Matt Macomber presented a sampling of their quilts and it was so interesting to hear them talk about their work. The event was held in the Old City Hall which is also part of the Whatcom Museum.

There is still lots of time to see the exhibition and participate in upcoming events. Luke Haynes will be at the museum on July 13-14 for a lecture and a workshop. (Rats! I’ll have to miss this one because I’ll be off having quilty fun in Sisters, Oregon.) But, I’ll be back later in the month. On July 27, from 2:00-3:00 I’ll be giving a lecture, “Modern with a Hint of Vintage”, in the Old City Hall rotunda. The presentation will include a slideshow and I’ll bring lots of quilts, too. The following day, July 28, from 10:00-2:00 I’ll share my passion for hand quilting in a workshop. We will learn about batting, needles, thread and ergonomics as well as ways to use hand quilting to enhance your work. This is suitable for any level of experience and I would love to have you join us!

I’ll leave you with one more photo of the gallery. If you live in the area or are visiting this summer, come celebrate Modern Quilts at the Whatcom Museum.

Score for Strings: City, Sherri Lynn Wood; Lawn Diamonds, Sarah Schraw and Krishma Patel

inspiration, modern quilting, QuiltCon

and then it was Spring

May 18, 2017 pennylanequilts 6 Comments

You know how it is when you neglect something for so long that it is embarrassing to get started again? Since my last post featured snow, this one will be a quick recap on some spring activities and hopefully get me motivated to continue blogging on a more regular schedule!

The end of February brought a trip to Savannah and a wonderful time connecting with friends at QuiltCon East.

If you missed out on the fabulous quilts on display, Kristin Shields has provided a series of posts highlighting many of the amazing quilts. Check out her excellent recaps by category and enjoy her beautiful quilts, as well.

Besides viewing quilts, I was inspired by the many lectures I attended. It was a privilege to hear long time friend, Anna Boenish @quiltingqueerly share her creative journey and personal insights into leading an intentional life.

It was my first trip to Savannah and I enjoyed the architecture and riverside attractions in this historic city.

March brought a visit to the Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum in LaConner, WA to view a collection of quilts by Gwen Marston. I really enjoyed spending the day with friends and the opportunity to view Gwen’s quilts in an intimate setting.

In April, quilting friend, Stan Green, had a solo exhibit at the Sequim Museum and Arts Center. It was a wonderful opportunity to see a retrospective of his beautiful work.

Spring colors get my creativity flowing and I enjoy watching the plants awake from winter.

If you follow @pennylanequilts over on Instagram, you can find photos of my quilting projects during the spring. Now that I have “broken the ice”over here in blog land, I’ll share details on some of those projects soon. Thanks for being patient with me. It is so hard to sit down at the computer when there are stitches to be sewn!

AQS, Bainbridge Quilt Festival, EPP, Exhibits/Shows, Improvisational quilting, North Olympic Fiber Arts Festival

it’s been awhile

May 4, 2016 pennylanequilts 7 Comments

After a long hiatus, I am working on this blog and intend to post more often! Here are a few of my quilting adventures from the past eight months.

Last fall, the Bainbridge Island Modern Quilt Guild hosted their 3rd annual Bainbridge Quilt Festival. This is a one day, outdoor show, which takes place on the second Saturday in September in downtown Bainbridge. The festival is a celebration of quilts and quilters, and if you’re from our area consider joining us this year!

Bainbridge Quilt Festival 2015 — Quilts by Stan Green and Melissa Carraway displayed along Winslow Way during the 2015 festival

In October, the North Olympic Fiber Arts Festival held their 10th annual exhibition and three of my quilts were on display. The festival includes a Fiber Extravaganza that celebrates the fiber arts with workshops, demonstrations and a fiber arts market in addition to the well-curated show at the Museum and Arts Center in Sequim.

penny lane quilts booth — Penny Lane Quilts booth ready for customers at NOFAF fiber arts market

fiber artists demonstrate their skills on a beautiful sunny day in Sequim — Fiber demonstrations during the 2015
Fiber Arts Extravaganza

Our winter was spent camping in the desert in Arizona with our horses. Lots of horseback riding, reading, hiking and sightseeing filled our days.

4 horseback riders and saguaro cactus — Sunny and dry, but not always warm!

But with my trusty Featherweight and some hand stitching to occupy my time, I managed to complete a few projects.

stitching on a featherweight outside of my horse trailer — Stitching outdoors at the Silver Bit Ranch

My membership in the Arizona Quilt Guild and the Vulture Peak Patchers allows me to participate in their events. This year that included a bus trip to the AQS QuiltWeek – Phoenix show, volunteering at the Desert Cabelleros Western Museum, participating in the guild’s show and attending an annual three day retreat called Sew Wickenburg.

vintage quilt from the collection of the Desert Caballeros Western Museum

Now that we’re back home, I’ve been busy in the studio with lots of new projects in the works. Stay tuned for updates. I promise it won’t be eight months until my next post!

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Marla Varner