Angela Mulholland is a fabric enthusiast with a passion for creativity, sewing and barge cruising.

Originally from Antrim town, she now lives with her husband, Mark, on their Dutch barge ‘Nola’ on the lakes of Lough Erne, enjoying “beautiful scenery, beautiful people and lots of quilting”.

Talking about her artistic background, Angela explained that her love of textiles began in the year 2000.

“Following surgery, I found myself confined to my home for a few months. There was a window seat in my bedroom badly in need of being re-covered.

“So, I enrolled in a home furnishings class where I met someone who would have more influence on my life than she would ever know.

“Raquel, a young mum to two boys and a new baby daughter, had come along to the furnishings class to give herself some free time away from home.

“She arrived with a small, portable sewing machine and a bundle of pink fabric scraps. By the end of that first evening, she had a quilt top pieced together for her daughter’s cot,” said Angela, noting how she was in “total awe” of Raquel and desperately wanted to give quilting a try.

“That’s when my passion for quilting was born. My tutor sold me a lightweight sewing machine and directed me to a local patchwork class.

“I quickly grasped the basics, whilst embracing this significance as someone not only new to quilting, but also new to the world of sewing!

“I enjoyed learning these processes so much that in later years I facilitated many beginners’ quilting classes myself,” she added.

As Angela grew more confident in making patchwork quilts, she joined the Quilters Guild.

“We met monthly in [the Ulster Folk Museum in] Cultra, where I loved listening to quilting stories and learning about the connection between Ireland, textiles and linen mills from experienced historians and fabric artists.

“I felt very much at home, and it wasn’t long before I was embraced as a younger member and soon became Guild Secretary,” she said.

In 2004, Angela set off on a once-in-a-lifetime ‘Quilting Cruise’ on the Caribbean.

“The seminars at sea with my quilting friend, Briege, really opened my eyes to design, artistic techniques and the diversity of quilting worldwide.

“I enjoyed subsequent trips to the Houston Quilt Fayre, and Florida shows, as well as local seminars in Limerick, Birmingham and Belfast,” she explained.

When asked about her greatest influence in the world of quilting, Angela responded: “Ricky Timms – a world-renowned American quilt artist is my greatest inspiration.

“I was honoured to attend a class with him and meet him in person. His freestyle methods are the polar opposite to my precise piecing and traditional style of quilting.”

As a mental health nurse, Angela is conscious of the therapeutic benefits of quilting. “I have found great comfort in making quilts as part of a healing process following life challenges, illness and bereavement,” she explained.

“One of my greatest accomplishments was combining my skills of quilting and working with bereaved parents. The depth of emotion each individual felt throughout the process, and with their finished quilts, was immense and one of the most beautiful experiences I have had in all of my career.”

Angela has continued to combine her love of quilting with health and wellbeing, making quilts to comfort those who are sick, those experiencing loss, fidget/sensory quilts for those with Alzheimer’s, and children with autism.

“Quilting has been an important part of my journey over the past 22 years – a journey which has been thought-provoking, creative, calming, rewarding and fulfilling,” she said.

During the pandemic, Angela delivered a series of online crafting workshops to groups within Fermanagh.

Calling it “a privilege” to lead these sessions, she added: “It was a joy to help, inspire and teach some of the skills and techniques which I have learned over the years. In fact, it was the work my students produced which inspired me to push my own creative boundaries.”

Since her retirement in 2019, Angela and her husband Mark have been living aboard Nola.

“Every day, I experience a sense of freedom, a space to be creative and a place to be with nature in which to continue my journey,” she said, going on to highlight her plans for the remainder of 2022: “To enjoy the lakes, newfound freedom, more travels, more learning, and of course, more fabric!”