Crafty Canadians

The most important tools for this hobby are patience and imagination

Last year, I asked myself, what do I get the world’s best mum for her 90th birthday? It would have to be something homemade— that way, she wouldn’t be able to say she doesn’t need anything and ask me to return it!

My mum, Anne Kokko, taught all three of her daughters, Arlene, Lindy and me, that we could do anything we put our minds to, and, growing up, we never dared tell Mum we were bored— so all three of us ended up learning to do many different crafts.

One of the crafts I enjoy is quilling. It began when a friend showed me a card she had quilled and I was hooked. It’s a relatively inexpensive hobby, requiring only a few basic tools to get started. These include quilling paper, a slotted quilling tool, scissors, glue and your imagination. You can purchase a beginners kit, which is what I did, that includes the quilling paper in various colours, the slotted quilling tool and instructions. After tackling a few practice flowers, the quilling world is yours!

Quilling, also called paper filigree, dates back to the Renaissance. Artists use narrow strips of paper to shape into rolls, scrolls, flutes and fringed designs to make their own beautiful creations.

Quilling paper can be found in various colours and widths, the width of the strips you choose depends on the overall effect you wish to achieve. These strips are cut to the length you require and twirled with the slotting tool into a spiral, which can then be glued into a tight spiral or let loose to relax into a more open spiral. These spirals are then pinched into different shapes to suit the piece you are working on, before finally being glued to the surface of your project.

To make my mum’s birthday gift, I designed a picture of a peacock and then quilled it. Anyone who has quilled will appreciate the hundreds of spirals, dots of glue applied and, most of all, the patience required to complete this project. Mission accomplished! I completed the picture, framed it and gave it to Mum for her birthday.

Remember, each project you make will be your own unique piece of art—by using your imagination, you can make almost anything— happy quilling! n