Meet the quilter running her own quilt studio on Inis Oírr.
Mary McCarty began making patchwork quilts in 1992, discovering her grá for it after making one as a gift for her son. Moving from Wisconsin in the states to Inis Oírr on the Aran Islands where she now runs her quilting studio, Mary’s work is hugely inspired by the flowers, fields and seascapes of her home.
Here Mary chats us through the unusual way she ended up on Inis Oírr and how crafting shouldn’t just be considered a hobby.
Can you tell us about your path to becoming a quilt maker?
My path to becoming a quilt maker started when I was about seven and my mother taught me how to sew doll clothes. That lead to lots of other kinds of sewing over the years – making my own clothes, pjs for my children, cushions and curtains for my house, a wedding dress for my sister, and finally a quilt for my son’s college graduation gift. From then on I focused on quilt making, mostly commission pieces through my business, McQuilties.
What inspired your move from Wisconsin, to Inis Oírr nearly two decades ago?
To give you the short version of my story, my daughter had met a man from Inis Oírr and moved here. On a trip over to visit her I met a man from Longford and ended up married to him and living just up the road from my daughter.
How has living on the island changed you, both personally and creatively?
Living on the island has taught me a lot about patience! Things seem to happen at a very different pace than I was used to back in America. Getting to the mainland can be an adventure (stormy seas, long ferry/bus trip), so I’ve learned to plan my trips carefully and not expect everything to always go to plan. Eventually things work out. Creatively the island has given me a whole new sense of colour and design. The sea, sky, stone walls, and native flowers have all found their way into my quilts.
What does a typical day in the studio look like for you?
A typical day could involve almost any combination of quilt related tasks. I do try to deal with paperwork/marketing/correspondence, etc. first thing to get that off my plate. Then I feel free to work on a new quilt design, select fabrics and do some cutting and sewing.
Once I have the quilt top sewn together, it’s loaded onto the longarm machine with a backing and batting, and the layers are stitched with a pattern to both hold everything together and create a complimentary surface design. Final steps like binding, washing, labelling, packing all happen at some point. Making a quilt from start to finish can take days, or weeks. Studio days almost always involve some kind of sewing along with all the rest of it.
What makes Irish craft so special? And why is it important to preserve that?
The materials makers use, the colours they choose, the designs inspired by what’s around us make Irish craft special because it is a direct expression of what is unique about Ireland.
Preserving handmade crafts not only honours where these skills came from, but gives the makers of today a way to add their own vision and creativity to Irish crafts.
What advice do you have for fellow crafters – whether they want to do it for a living or nurture their hobby?
I only have my own experience to share, but if you want to make crafts for a living, find a way to do it that fits the kind of life you want to live. And never let anyone tell you that it’s ‘just a hobby’, crafts are an important way to express yourself and find comfort and joy in your own skills. They reflect who you are and what you can contribute to the world.
Read next: How this Waterford pottery studio has celebrated Irish craft for four decades.
