Get set to celebrate!

Another week of silence from Quilliance ... what's going on?  Well, plenty as it happens! As many of you may already know, I have recently been elected to serve on the Committee of the Quilling Guild here in the UK, and right now we are busy organising what promises to be the biggest event on the international quilling calendar in recent times: the Guild's 30th Anniversary Celebration of Quilling which is to be held at Liverpool University (in the north-west of England, UK) on 10th - 11th August 2013.

There will be competitions, workshops, 'make and take' sessions, trade stands selling all manner of supplies ... and displays of quilling to take your breath away. The event will provide a wonderful opportunity to meet and socialise with fellow quillers (many of whom may already be known to you as friends via the internet). It will be the perfect environment in which to share ideas, gain inspiration and learn from some of the world's best-known quilling authors and tutors. Best of all, it will be spread over two whole days, providing a feast for the senses in every way!

Liverpool is easily accessible by road, rail and air, with easy connections to the international airport hub at Manchester. It's a vibrant city, rich in culture and heritage, with attractions ranging from art galleries, museums and historic buildings to the famous Mersey Ferry and the history of The Beatles.

The event will be open to the public on the afternoon of Saturday 10th August (13.30 - 17.00), and from 10.00 - 16.00 on Sunday 11th August 2013 ... but Members of the Guild will be able to benefit from much, much more!

For the ultimate quilling experience, Quilling Guild Members can book accommodation in the University on the Friday and Saturday nights, taking full advantage of an amazing low-cost package deal which includes breakfast, lunch, morning and afternoon refreshments and a special Anniversary Dinner on Saturday evening - plus, of course, unrestricted access to the quilling displays and workshops throughout the weekend. The Guild is also hoping to organise a visit on Friday afternoon to the nearby Lady Lever Art Gallery at Port Sunlight where the most exquisite examples of 18th Century quilled tea caddies and a famous cabinet are on display.

What better reasons could there be for becoming a Member of the Quilling Guild?

Well, I suppose I could mention our seasonal full-colour quilling magazine, new exclusive members' blog (coming soon!), extensive network of local contacts and internationally respected accreditation scheme ... but that's another blog post altogether!

If you're not already a Member of the Quilling Guild, you can easily join us right now by downloading a membership application form here.

We look forward to seeing you in Liverpool 2013!

A long-distance flyer

Well, here she is at last: my quilled woodpecker! I had intended to post this yesterday, but found my whole day taken up with putting details of last weekend's amazing Quilling Guild display of work on the Guild's Facebook group page - the interest in this event has been phenomenal! Quillers from all over the world have been avid to see pictures of the quilling work on show and the competition winners ... and from the response I've already received, the pictures I posted did not disappoint! I'll be putting more pictures up on Facebook every day this week.

Anyway, to return to the woodpecker ... believe me, this is a well-travelled bird! I originally quilled her for entry into to North American Quilling Guild's 'Framed Quilling' competition at NAQGCON 2012, so she has already flown across the Atlantic and back! And while she was there, she managed to achieve a fleeting appearance on American TV!

Then, last weekend, I took her to Lutterworth where she proudly stood amongst other quillings on the Master's category table in the 2012 Quilling Guild competitions.

Sadly, she failed to achieve sufficient votes from members to gain winning status at either Guild event - but I am very proud of her, nonetheless.

She is actually a Green Woodpecker - a brightly coloured species of bird which is commonly found in English woodlands. Her plumage is mainly fashioned out of tiny vortex coils, which I made using a combination of shades to try and echo the subtle variations that occur in the natural colouration of the feathers. I have found that vortex coils are ideal for filling in large areas - perhaps even better than teardrop and marquise shapes, because they can be manipulated to fit the most awkward of spaces!

I made the tree trunk using self-supporting 'beehive' quilling (i.e. not contained within a shape) whose coils were glued together at countless different 'anchor points'. I used 1.5mm strips for the trunk to give the appearance of depth to the picture, since the rest of the bird was made from 3mm strips.

She may not have been considered a 'winner' in Guild members' eyes, but my woodpecker is actually about to hit the big time in the UK as a guest of our Women's Institute (WI) organisation! I'm very proud to say that Hampshire Federation WI is going to feature her on the front cover of their October magazine, with a little story about my quilling exploits on the inside. The ladies at my local WI are all VERY excited about this, so the woodpecker will soon be making one more outing to attend our next group meeting ... after which she will hopefully enjoy a well-earned rest on my dining room wall.

Read all about it!!

Well, what a wonderful weekend we've just had at the Quilling Guild's annual celebration of all things quilling here in the UK!

On Saturday, we had our Annual General Meeting, coupled with competitions, demonstrations, the chance to buy all manner of quilling supplies ... AND the most breathtaking displays of paper filigree work. Then, on Sunday, we had our equally fabulous Shared Ideas Day at which quillers from across the world gathered to socialise and learn techniques from one another. My senses are still on overload, and I would not have wanted to miss a single minute!

I'll be posting lots more detail about what went on over the course of the next few days, but I want to start with the pictures that I promised of my winning entry in the Quilling In A Frame competition category.  (I was delighted to be awarded Third Place out of a total of 14 entries - the biggest group by far - and what fantastic entries they were!)  Unfortunately, I couldn't get wi-fi in the hotel where we were staying, and if I had tried to upload the pictures over my painfully-slow Vodafone connection, I would still be waiting for it to finish now!  So here goes ...

I actually completed this picture last winter, after several weeks of work. It was originally inspired by the design of a beautiful ceramic tile which hangs in our downstairs bathroom, and I saw it as an opportunity to try out just about every type of quilling shape I know!

So I utilised pinched eccentric coils (the lemons); vortex coils (many of the bricks); open filigree work with solid coils (the fruit trees, steps and balcony); marquises, teardrops and eyes (everywhere!); wheatear huskings (the plant and terracotta pot); 'packets' of flat crimped strips (the distant ocean); beehive coils to fill in the windows and door; a mixture of contrasting marquises and beehive coils (the waves tumbling on to the beach) ... in fact, just about every technique I could think of!

To give the picture depth, I added the balcony, starfish and seaweed as separate layers, and had the whole thing framed in a triple mount (not shown) for added impact.

I worked on a tracing of the shapes delineating the various sections of the picture, which was covered in cling-film and held in place by pins on a mounting board. In order to keep the picture within straight edges while I was quilling, I purchased the inner mount first and worked within it, using a reverse bevel cut to hold the quilling in. I lifted the entire quilling from the board in a single piece (an anxious moment, believe me!!), before gluing it to a neutral-coloured backing paper (pale blue) and taking it to be framed.

I feel very proud of this picture, because it is definitely the most ambitious piece of artwork I have ever created, and I was delighted by the admiring comments that I received from so many Guild members on Saturday. I'd like to thank ALL of them for giving me their vote!