This story has roots that go back years. I've a book called 'Contemporary Quilts', first published back in 1994. It is, as the title suggests, about modern quilting, and despite it being a slim volume it manages to pack in a lot of inspiring photographs. The quilts are a mix of abstract and figurative, and two in particular caught my eye. One - which has nothing to do with this blog post - was by Deirdre Amsden, and if you haven't seen her Colourwash series of quilts then do yourself a favour and google 'em. The other was a glorious quilt by Ulva Ugerup, from Lund in Sweden. She'd sewn a stunning wall hanging, 175 x 150cm (that's 70 x 60 inches), with a scrappy background and lots of machine embroidery.
The 'Girls of Glory' wall hanging features 90 'girls' who are remarkable for many reasons. We've everyone from Mary Wollstonecraft, Sonia Delaunay, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Edith Sitwell, Golda Meir and Aphra Behn.
I've always loved this wall hanging, and can only imagine how wonderful it is to see it up close, or to run your fingers over the brocades, wool and velvet patchwork.
Off and on I've wondered if I could make something along these lines. Not as ambitious, obviously, and nowhere near as accomplished. Anyway, cut to this year, the one where I've decided to learn basic embroidery skills, and where I've accompanied a lot of my stitching while half-watching YouTube craft videos. Quite by chance, the algorithm threw up a video about an artist called Ulva Ugerup. I didn't recognise the name, but something about the work featured reminded me of 'Girls of Glory'. I dug out the 'Contemporary Quilts' book and - yup! - it was the same woman. She's an older lady now, living with Parkinsons which is making her hands tremble, but her mind's sharp. She's funny and engaging.
She's also made these extraordinary angels. Radiating anger. Full of fury.
I love everything about these gals. Their fierce expressions, the pinks and gold, the dark and moody background, the upcycling of old fabric and even the caps off beer bottles. How could I resist trying to sew my own Angel of Wrath? It's still in its early stages, so if I make progress I'll post a photo tomorrow. But in the meantime, why not make yourself a cuppa and spend a few minutes getting to know this wonderful textile artist. Her
YouTube video can be found via this link, and she's well worth a listen.
"I believe in angry and powerful angels, and here they are, in beautiful hats and wings and full of magical things! And performing a River Dance."
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