Saturday 8 December 2012

Quilled Snowflakes in the Sun



I thought I’d get a little into the Christmas spirit. While we’ll probably be outside playing croquet in the sun on Christmas day, I find I still think in traditional mid-winter motifs – cultural immersion, or an excess of international media and marketing, I suppose – or just a lot of Christmas carols about snow and holly. So here are some snowflakes to brighten a Christmas tree or living room. Some of these are ones I made last year, and gave to family and friends as combined Christmas cards and Christmas ornaments. Others are the ones I’ve made this year, which are for sale at my felt shop.


I enjoy making each one at least a bit different and try out coil combinations. I’ve found having a strong centre works best structurally, so I tend to stick with a six pointed star shape. I have tried out some other shapes though – see this one that’s made up of V-scrolls? I think it’s pretty, but more like a ships-wheel than snowflake!




This one’s currently my favourite, I like the way it swirls, and enjoy the starkness of the paper, as compared with the shiny silver or brushed gold ones I make (although those do look great with Christmas lights). 

I’ve actually made a couple of this pattern, I like it so much. I think in general I prefer the old parchment colour to the white. I know white it more ‘authentic’, if there is such a thing when discussing paper snowflakes, but the aged look suits paper better, and makes for an elegant look that suit more decor styles.

Saturday 24 November 2012

Quilled Cyclamens




This is a picture I made as a present for my mother. I really like cyclamens, with their backwards facing flowers and spinging seeds, so I wanted to make a picture featuring them. They were great fun to construct. 

Gluing each flower together was the trickiest part, as I needed to stick all five petal on simultaneously to be sure they’d all fit. As I wanted them on a slant as well, this process felt like it would have gone much more easily if I had around six hands ... you can see some of them slipped a little. I tell myself they’re windblown!



I’m actually happiest with the cyclamen leaf – I think it shows the quilling coils off well, and I enjoy the ways it’s constructed as a discrete piece. 



The roses and daisies were taken from my stock - I periodically go through a ‘rose making’ or ‘daisy making’ phase where I spend a few hours a day for a week or so making them in a production line, so I can pull them out as needed.


The background is water soluble oils. I generally like using these, as they have the benefits of oils – slow drying, easy layering and the high gloss finish – without the really noxious fumes. This time however I was pushing it timewise. I always forget they take weeks to dry completely, not just a few days, and ended up trying to stick quilled paper onto slightly damp paint – not to mention giving a gift with a strict –“don’t touch – the paint’s still wet!”

Saturday 17 November 2012

Cabbages, Kings and Quilling



I’m starting this blog as a place to discuss and showcase my craft and art. I’ll be mostly talking about quilling, my primary medium. However I’m more than a bit scattered and eclectic when it comes to crafts so it will also include a lot of other projects of various sorts. These will likely include (but certainly are not limited to) knitting, sewing, appliqué, marbling, cross-stitch, print making, origami ... you get the idea. 


For a taste of things to come, here’s a picture of an older project of mine 
–  A Little Kiwiana. 

The background is painted - acrylic on card. The quilling in the foreground forms a NZ fern leaf and Pohutakawa blossoms, as well as fish and a wave. A classic kiwi vista.






I must admit on a grey day like today it looks more like wishful thinking than reality. I tell myself it is appropriately Christmassy for the time of year, at least for those of us in the Southern Hemisphere.