Q can be a hard letter for the A to Z Challenge. That is probably why this is not the first time I’ve blogged about Quilling. It does start with Q after all.
You can read that previous post here: Q is for (Mainely) Quilling | I am in awe of these amazing paper creations. I am amazed by the things Stacy creates using thin strips of paper. I’ve continued to follow Quantum Artistic on Etsy and recently purchased a beautiful bumble bee art piece from her.
I am realistic enough to recognize that her level of quilling is not something I can pull off. She is a true artist. I was looking for the craft version of quilling.
I pulled out a birthday themed quilling instruction kit I bought many years ago to make a birthday card. I started with some of the quilling samples in the instruction sheet. After working on the birthday card design, I realized that maybe the overall theme of the kit was skewing a little younger than I wanted.
After searching online and seeing examples of quilled cupcakes, I freehanded one of my own and end up creating three different colored cupcakes. A quick modification of a word template and I had a belated birthday card ready to go.
It was time to dive a little deeper and try to expand my quilling skills. Over one glue and paper filled evening, I made a quilled monarch butterfly which I’m planning to hang by the quilled bee that I purchased from Quantum Artistic.
My husband thought it was all very Muhammad Ali of me, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” The reality is that a butterfly seemed doable for a novice quiller.
I did not include instructions in this post as I really was “winging” it for this one. I don’t have any extensive quilling tools other than a slotted needle so have no way to gauge the size of my quilled shapes. I also don’t have a quilling needle to make the tight circles.
Other than overusing my glue to seal the shapes resulting in a little bit of overall messiness, I’m happy with my first larger quilled creation.
My butterfly next to the quilled bee from Quantum Artistic.
There is another Q craft that I could have tried. My grandmother was an avid quilter. She made thousands of quilts in her lifetime. I use a smaller one she made out of antique fabric as a curtain to hide the small appliances in my kitchen. I am lucky to have many quilts that she made over the years.
While I don’t typically quilt myself, I did recently make a story quilt during one of our Gish challenges this past summer. We had to use burlap and other rough materials to represent the challenges of 2020. My daughter created the center artwork which we printed on fabric paper and then I sewed the rest.
While I’m extremely happy with how it came out, I think this may be the extent of my quilting projects at least for the near future.
Although, maybe someday. Clearly, I haven’t met a craft I didn’t like.
Have you ever tried quilling, quilting or another q craft I should know about?
I’m participating in a Blogging A-Z Challenge for April 2021. I will be posting new content every day this month except most Sundays. Each post is associated with a letter of the alphabet, starting with A and ending with Z. My theme for the challenge is Craft Projects for my Home. To read more of my A to Z posts from this year, click HERE.
Weekends in Maine 
I have never tried quilling but admire it. Pretty time consuming I would imagine, but that gets you in the zone right? I’ve been enjoying your A to Z posts. In the home stretch now!
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It does take a lot of time but you are right that you get in the zone. It’s also something you can do while watching TV.
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I’m really enjoying your a to z posts!! You did a great job on the butterfly. I’ve never tried quilling. I tried to make a t-shirt quilt and gave up! My niece actually quit her “career” to stay home and quilt and she is making more money making quilts than she made as a dental hygienist! I actually paid her to make the t-shirt quilt using my daughter’s sorority and college t-shirts and it is gorgeous! We liked it so much that I had one made for my son-in-law, too!
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How wonderful that she was able to pursue her passion. Sounds like she has quite a talent for it too!
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Paper quilling is beautiful. I’ve done it with older children in a home school art group. Your butterfly is very nice! Great job.
Lisa Elliott, isn’t it a shame that your niece paid good money for training that pays so little? It’s the same with a lot of “tech” jobs, like vet tech or nail tech. Great she can make money doing what she loves!
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Thanks. It is a lot of fun. I’ll definitely give it another go in the future.
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They look amazing. A skill I had never heard of before.
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There is no end to the crafts and hobbies out there. Even I was amazed as I started researching my A to Z for this year.
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I lack the skillfulness and patience for quilting, but I admire the people who do and create the most amazing pieces of art.
I met a lady online whose business it is to make quilt blankets out of people’s baby clothes. I sent her a huge box with our stuff, and it turned out great. We still use and love it. It also includes his little hats and jackets with zippers or ribbons, so it’s like an activity carpet 😉
https://thethreegerbers.blogspot.com/2021/04/a-z-2021-quicker-than-lager-turns-to.html
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I love those quilts that incorporate sentimental items. It’s such a great way to repurpose and remember them.
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Great job on the butterfly and it was interesting to see the pictures of it in progress. It really goes well with the beautiful bee – you now have a very lovely pollinator corner. 🙂
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I do have a little pollinator corner now. I like that interpretation.
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Congrats on that quilting project — and today’s the perfect day for it. The quilling looks great — adding it to my crafting list. https://mollyscanopy.com/2021/04/questioning-everything-atozchallenge/
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Thank you! Crafting as a theme makes A to Z easy. There are endless creative endeavors out there to choose from.
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I love paper crafting as you may know but I never got into quilling. Those butterflies are stunning!
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Thank you! My first attempt at quilling was actually on a scrapbook page. I was doing a nature theme and quilled some frogs and other wildlife. It was a much smaller attempt than my butterfly but it gave me the quilling bug.
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Wow, okay. I’ve seen those “little paper design things,” but I never knew what they were called before. Thank you! Your butterfly is lovely! And your quilt is great, too.
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Thank you. There are some really cool quilling creations out there. It’s fun to see what people create from little strips of paper.
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That came out great. I think I am too lazy to try this. 🙂
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It is one of the more time consuming ones.
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Though never much of a crafter myself, I do appreciate the talented work of others. I did take up sewing from my mother but eventually found department store purchases more to my liking. Your quilling butterfly is lovely.
https://gail-baugniet.blogspot.com
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Crafting is definitely not for everyone. Creativity and passion can be found in many other ways too.
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Beautiful quilling butterfly 😉 I tried one, but I’m not very good with this craft. Once the paper is folded, youcan’t really unfolded it, not like fabric 😉 QuilTing is easier for me!! Your mini is lovely, well done!
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You are so right that once folded or twirled there is no going back. I did have a few pieces which I had to redo from scratch with a new piece but once I got the hang of it, things improved.
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That is awesome… I never knew what that was called… quilling… learn something new every day. You are so talented, I bet your house is filled with crafty projects…it could be a CRAFT MUSEUM! I always wanted to make one of those t-shirt quilts but just didn’t have enough ambition to do it. I do have a sewing machine but it doesn’t get much use. Shame. Maybe one day… ha ha ha.
Cheers.
Crackerberries
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I think my husband does sometimes feel like he is in a craft museum. I’m always finding a new project to try.
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I’d be far too clumsy to master quilling! The butterfly is absolutely beautiful.
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I need a lot more practice but I’m excited I got something that actually looked like what I was trying to make. I’m calling it a win!
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Never knew about paper quilting.
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It’s not as common as some other crafts but I think it’s pretty cool.
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I was about to ask you that question myself: is there any craft left that you haven’t mastered yet? Love the butterfly. And your husband’s quip made me grin.
My favourite butterfly quote is by Rabindranath Tagore: ‘A butterfly counts not months, but moments and has time enough.’
The minute I saw that bee, I thought of Deborah:)
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What a beautiful quote. Thank you for sharing it.
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I bought my grandchildren a quilling set last monsoon thinking that it would keep them gainfully occupied during the rainy season. Unfortunately, it has kept me gainfully occupied, picking up after them. They love the concept but can’t manage it so I have blobs of glue all over the place and bits of paper and many half quilled projects!
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I am so sorry it hasn’t worked out as you had hoped. The glue struggle is real. It is hard to do just enough glue to hold the but not so much it ends up everywhere. It can be messy to clean up.
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I love quilling! Like you, I know mine is just crafty even though I’d love to have the skills of some of these artists. I haven’t made a butterfly before, but I might have to try. Yours looks great!
– Allison (https://lightningflashx.blogspot.com/)
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I’m good with being at a crafter quilling skill level. It’s such a fun, creative thing to do. I see more quilled cards in my future.
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