Easy Quilled Hat

One day while experimenting, I realized that I could make large quilled shapes if I used wider paper and crimping it before rolling. It was easier to work with and control the tension.

This is a photo of the first crimped quilling project I submitted that was published in a book (2003). They wanted an easy, framed quilled project that would take less than one hour to make.

You only need two loose coils. One shaped-half circle and a shaped-marquise. The instructions say I used a 1/4" wide by 68 inch  (.635 cm x 160 cm) crimped strip to make each shape. I made two circle templates with the same paper that I dropped the coils in to release. One 1.75" (4.45 cm) diameter for the top and 2.5" (6.35 cm) diameter for the brim.

I have also used this design to make red and purple hat motifs for cards, tags, scrapbooking (The Red Hat Society) and a wedding hat. The possibilities to embellish the hat (the fun part) are endless!

Thanks for looking.

Have a great day!

-Molly

Stepping Back in Time

Happy September!

A long time ago when I started quilling, I could only find kits by Quill It, Inc. (1974) owned by Barbara B. Maddox. They were sold at a Fort Worth, Ben Franklin Craft Store. From the information included in the kits, I could soon order via mail by catalog. Later in the 80s, the kits were sold at MJDesigns in the Dallas-Fort Worth area (the M stood for Michael, as in the Michaels Stores, Inc. started in Texas.)*

Most of the kits included printed card stock to cut out and use for leaves and other motifs. They also included a printed saying to use as the background. I bought as many kits as I could find and still have several unopened. I continue to collect and buy the original Quill It kits on eBay when I can find them.

As you can see, my mat cutting skills were horrendous! LOL I collected strawberries in my kitchen for about a year, but didn't like how the reds never matched and seemed to clash. The fact that I had bright yellow and brown (70s) wallpaper in the kitchen didn't help with the decor.

I cannot remember the reason for doing this, but I always covered the backs with coordinating paper, probably gift wrapping paper.

Bright colors have always been my favorite. I collected parrots in the 80s so this is one of my favorites. (I am a huge Jimmy Buffet fan, an original parakeet.) In today's quilling standards, I believe these cut-out leaves would be quilled, along with the beak. The same with the sun below.

You guessed it! I also collected rainbows. Back when these kits were sold you couldn't purchase individual packages of quilling paper. So I saved every piece quilling strip leftovers. I did break into other kits to use the paper when I started quilling my own little pieces. I regret that now.

These three projects are in poor shape from not being stored properly and kept in a hot Texas garage for all these years. I clean my old, dusty quilling pieces with a can of air and an old, soft shaving brush. I'd like to think some of the age spots show character :)

Thanks for going down memory lane with me.
Have fun quilling!

-Molly

*Michael's dad, James Dupey, bought the Ben Franklin craft stores. I taught quilling at MJDesigns in 2002. They filed for bankruptcy 10 days before Christmas and I never got paid for teaching the classes. I was devastated, but looking back I am glad for the experience (it gave me much needed confidence) and the teacher discount was nice.