This pattern came from The Book Of Paper Quilling. It’s for my Grandmother for Christmas (shhh!).
I’ve always used a slotted quilling tool but the quills were so small in the birds that I was really unhappy with how they were coming out so I tried using the needle tool for the first time. It was very slow and painful at first but I got a lot better at it by the end and the results are worth it. It’s hard to see in the photo but the bird on the left was quilled using the slotted tool and the one on the right with the needle tool. If you look closely you can see the more obvious holes in the one on the left, especially in the white area.
The background is actually a mottled light blue.
Dawn…your blue birds came out wonderfully….I know how you feel though about the slotted tool,it’s easier to work with, but it leaves a kink in the centres of your coils, but the needle tool gives you a much finer center. But as with anything, it just takes practice…keep at it, for this one turned out just beautiful, and I’m sure your grandmother will just love it….Betty Clement from the quillers list.