Amy Emms was born in Fulwell and became a world-renowned quilter. She has been called one of the last true folk artists of England. Durham quilting, so called because the craft was rediscovered there in Edwardian times, involves stabbing stitches through two layers of cloth and the wadding between, a technique descended from mediaeval masterpieces and eighteenth century Marseilles, so that the plain fabric becomes a shallow and subtle sculpture.
Amy learned the craft from her mother, and used the same iconography of feathers, flowers, shells and scrolling ropes. The wedding-dress for her daughter Olive, 'a sculpture of dinted snow' is Amy's masterpiece. In 1951, she began to teach evening classes and her fame spread far and wide. She gave lessons at her own day school in the Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead. She also made television films and video tapes for craft courses. Amy was made an MBE in 1984.