From Western Australia –
Kira Mead’s post on the Guild’s Facebook page has gone viral.
In just a few days there have been over 3,000 views and 30 shares –
but it’s the number of comments that have really been interesting.
Usually a Facebook post goes up on the Guild page after a Blog has been published on the Guild website; but this time, it’s the other way around.
The image shown above was posted on Facebook because it was interesting, creative and different. There’s been such a fantastic response and so many comments, it warrants further explanation and more images of quillies (standing wool rugs) by Kira.
Kira was unaware she was using an ancient technique to create her rugs. She didn’t know about “standing wool rugs” or the term “quillie” which comes from Quilling (or paper filigree) an art form involving the use of strips of paper, rolled, shaped and glued together to create decorative designs. Quilling was also combined or married with other techniques such as embroidery and painting……and rug hooking.
I checked out the term on Wikipedia after remembering having read about quillie rugs in American rug hooking newsletters and also the quillie brooches I’d been given, made by Canadian friends, with strips of wool fabric left over from their rug hooking projects,
Kira explained that she was researching up-cycling wool blankets online and found “Accidental Carpet” and just had to give it a go.
Quillies can be created by stitching or gluing (there were many comments on Facebook about the different methods)
The technique Kira discovered made use of a hot glue gun and strips of blankets.
Kira said :
” I absolutely fell in love with them, but wanted to put my own spin on it, which is what you can see in this rug. (above)
It was made from a couple of very old off-white, stained blankets. The owner couldn’t bear to donate them to the op shop because she knew they’d be used as dog blankets. They were sentimental to her because they were her late mothers. When I told her what I had planned, she happily let me have them and is delighted with how they have been used. They have been dyed with food dye and have a tie-dye look to them.”
Here are more of Kira’s rugs :-
Licorice Labyrinth
