This episode is the second of the occasional mini series Material Histories with Deb McGuire. In this one we have a wonderful wide-ranging conversation starting with what we look for in quilt shows but covers far more than that. We talk about the power of connecting through making, about showing and sharing textile works and about the incredible beauty and power of textile maker communities.
Deb McGuire (she/her) is a doctoral candidate, researching her thesis “Emotional Journeys: The British Quilt in Space and Time, 1770–1939” at London College of Fashion and co-director of the research and heritage project Within The Frame with Dr Jess Bailey. McGuire’s research explores histories of emotion, memory and inheritance through the material culture and practices of domestic quilt making. Her recent research into the quilters of the North Country has been published in the journal Quilt Studies and forms a chapter of Inheriting the Family: Objects, Identities and Emotions edited by Katie Barclay et al., published by Bloomsbury in March 2025. She is a creative maker, melding academic history with recreative methods to inform both her research and her creative practice. She is an advisor to the accredited The Quilt Collection, York; writes a regular column for The Quilter magazine; and is a vernacular hand quilter, working at her Victorian, Welsh quilt frame.
Play here
Download the full transcript here
Maker Membership
Maker Membership is a place to learn from me about how I work and apply to your own making practice. It’s about creating research-focussed work, to develop and refine your ideas, to grow your creative confidence and develop your own voice.
Anyone is welcome, as long as you have a making practice and want to develop your research and the meanings behind your making.
Leave a Reply