Spotlight: Leanne McGiveron, Fiber Artist and Photographer

What if your quilts could take you around the world? Leanne McGiveron turns travel, photos, and memories into colorful quilts full of story and meaning.

From Ireland to Antarctica, she follows her curiosity, capturing patterns, light, and adventure in fabric. Her journey shows that it’s never too late to try something new—and that creativity can help guide you through life’s biggest moments.

What first pulled you into quilting, and what kept you coming back to it?  

No one in my family was a quilter. I grew up with blankets on beds and woven throws on the couch. My mom loved working with a variety of arts and crafts, so as a 4-H’er, she signed me up for it all … macrame,  ceramics, cross stitch, and even recycled art. Sewing? It was a hard pass for me.  

It wasn’t until I found myself in southern Indiana in the mid-90’s for a new job. A new friend had a quilt hanging in her living room. I was intrigued. I still remember buying my first pattern – a four-leaf clover made with log cabin blocks. Finding fabrics was easy. I tried cutting out the strips with scissors. Frustrated, I bought a rotary cutter. But who needs a cutting mat when a piece of cardboard would work? Until it didn’t. I gave up.  

A year later, I found a county fair panel at Joann’s. As a 4-H Youth Educator responsible for the county fair, I had to have it. I also bought a cutting mat. We didn’t have YouTube or even the Internet back then. So it was to the library for books. It came together.  

Hand quilting was the ‘only’ way to quilt then. I managed to finish that twin-sized quilt one stitch at a time. And, I almost gave up again.  

I persisted. I bought a couple of quilt books. I took a class. More importantly, a new machine quilter emerged in the area. I still remember showing up with my first quilt top that I made for my mother. It was a relief when I handed it over. That quilt still exists today.  

Before quilting, you were already working with photography. How did those two paths begin to connect for you?  

My father gave me my first “proper” camera when I graduated from college. The camera forces me to slow down, to ‘see’. It was also how I began to notice color. It wasn’t just a pretty purple flower, there were shades.  

My Ireland-inspired body of work actually began with photography. I had taken a break from quilting (again) and focused on finding my voice with that medium. After a couple of years, I pulled out some turquoise fabric and designed a new Celtic knot. As I finished it, while happy with the design, I found myself thinking … I just want to be surrounded by the color of Ireland. And then I realized that I had thousands of photographs from Ireland. It was that moment that led to “interlacing visual and textile  arts.”  

How did your creative life change once you began combining travel, photography, and quilting?  

I have focus. I also have unlimited inspiration.

My Ireland Inspired body of work wasn’t meant to become something. It was exhibited in a local gallery in late 2019. I started a couple of new knots, and then the COVID  pandemic started.  

What I realize today is that I was bored. I would take breaks when I lost inspiration. Like many, I tried scrapbooking, cards, jewelry … I can knit and crochet. I always came back to quilting. It’s being able to hold color, patterns, and textures in my hands. In turn, create patterns.  

What I also know is that quilting allows us to work through tough times. It was there when I needed it most. I took a bit of a pause on quilts (again)  in 2020 and focused on bags to organize for travel and retreats (another story for another day).  

In the spring of 2021, I lost both of my parents in six weeks, one expected, one not, (COVID). That much change in a short time, well, I felt a little lost. As I sat in the ICU with mom, a travel influencer from Canada posted … anyone want to go to Antarctica? I didn’t know there was tourism in Antarctica. When a last call came a few days after mom passed, I thought why not?  

As I decided that I would travel south, I knew I wanted to apply my Ireland inspired approach to Antarctica. The initial plan was to build a body of work when I returned and incorporate colors. But I had 18 months, overwhelming grief, and a need to put energy into something. 

Antarctica: Anticipating the Adventure started with a photography question. How much daylight would we have along the peninsula? Internet research led me to a graphic that looked like a modern quilt. An idea began to take shape – build a body of work from research and discovery before I go. Travel was shifting to adventure. That is when it all came together, as well as a new focus on Quilt Your Adventure.  

The daylight quilt became Hope Bay. The yellows represent daylight, periwinkle is twilight, and the dark navy is night. I looked up the times of sunrise, sunset, and twilight. I did the calculations the old-fashioned way. The quilt’s ’bar chart’ is within a quarter inch of accuracy. Each bar represents a month, beginning in January and on the 21st day, capturing the solstices and equinoxes.  

Once I saw the itinerary and did some research, I decided not to let this one slip by. I wanted to return to Antarctica. But, Southern Africa? In the Spring of  2024, I was handed an early retirement. I wasn’t going to sit around. I took some time to figure out what I wanted to do … and it included sitting on the edge of Victoria Falls in Zambia, sleeping on the seventh continent below the Antarctic Circle, and even doing a polar plunge in the Southern Ocean.

Jordan? I’m an Indiana Jones fan and the idea of seeing the Treasury in Petra … yes, please.  

I need to thank Hannah Logan of Eat, Breathe, Sleep, and Travel for having group trips at the right time, to the right place. What started as 13 strangers in 2023 on a ship sailing to Antarctica has led to repeat travels with strong, independent women. We get there by ourselves, but anchor in a group.

These are adventure travels. I have found that I like the gritty. It allows me to rebalance. It has also allowed me to be present. When I am present, patterns and colors will emerge from everywhere. 

When you visit a place, what are you looking for—color, texture,  story, or something else? Do you plan your concepts before a trip, or let the place surprise you?  

Ireland Inspired grew out of travel. Antarctica shifted my approach  with “anticipating the adventure.” It was this body of work that I wanted to take quilt blocks with me to photograph in Antarctica. But I only designed one quilt with blocks, but I realized I could design a miniature quilt of a few large quilts.

One block and six mini’s traveled to Antarctica. But we had a problem. The plan was to take them with me and photograph them on the continent. There are also strict measures that if something touches any surface has to be disinfected. It’s a yellow-green solution, and I wasn’t going to stain the mini’s.

The last day, I was trying to take photos on the back of the ship. Windy conditions made it also impossible. But two members of the group said … we can help.  That was the start of ‘human quilt stands.’ Whether on a boat in the  Pacific, in a desert in Southern Africa, or along the Al Siq in Jordan, the  women and men that I have travelled with have always been gracious to hold a quilt.  

How did I end up with my current framework? Research and discovery led to my miniatures. They come with me to be photographed, but also to see if I was close. Sometimes it’s a miss. But sometimes it confirms the research. I still remember the purple dusk we had in the Galápagos one evening – priceless.

When I come home, I begin to build out the primary body of work based on the colors, patterns, or inspiration from the adventure.  

What kind of stories do you hope viewers see or feel when they look at your quilts?  

I want to inspire them to look at all those pictures they have taken over the years. They have stories and memories. I want to give them ideas or a path to create their own body of works or collections.  

“Quilt Your Adventure” started back in 2016 because I was bored. I think as we get older, we can get stuck. We understand what it is going to take to learn a new technique, try something different. We are busy …  we have careers, families, etc. It’s going to take time. We forget that it also took time when we were younger.  

A body of work or collection doesn’t have to be built around adventure, like sitting on the edge of a waterfall. It can be quiet. It can also be around other topics, such as family, local places, etc. I want others to see that they, too, can create collections. That they can explore techniques, colors, etc. We all have images of tiles and pavers on our phones. 

What if I design quilt blocks from a paver from San Cristobal in the  Galapagos and use the blue-black, yellow, and aqua colors of a marine iguana that same island?  

That quilt holds memories. There was also the excitement of bringing it to life as a new design. We can all do that. I want to inspire others to discover their opportunities to design and create.  

Describe your creative space.  

By now, you are probably finding that I don’t always follow the rules. 

For years, I worked out of a den and then a second bedroom. In 2021, I donated a lot of my furniture and moved my studio into my great room. It has the best light. My den has my cutting table and fabric storage. I have a small space for an oversized chair and television for late-night binge watching while I appliqué or work on binding. It’s just me and Aoife (cat).

No regrets, unless someone visits and I have to drag a lawn chair out.  

How do you organize your ideas when you’re working on a large collection?  

I begin with paper and pencil … a title. It’s analog. I can erase it. I can make a long list. I also keep a list on my phone as I begin to decide on quilts and titles. Then there is a third paper and pencil list. It’s my final.  

I had a dot journal for Ireland Inspired and started with one for Antarctica. Halfway through that work, I moved to designing digital. They are all in an iPad program called Graphic. I save images as well as the SVG. The key is also a naming convention that will help me find them later on 

How do you move from a photograph to a finished quilt design? 

A textile art friend from Ireland describes her work as an ‘essence’.

I still remember showing up with a photo, and I wanted my wool felting to look exactly like the photo. She simply said … if you want something that looks exactly like the photo, hang the photo on the wall.

That was in 2014, and it has stuck with me. My images allow me to capture a moment, the color, or the pattern. Then I begin to brainstorm. The Sally Light-footed crab tells the story of the variety of colors as it scoots along the grey-to-black volcanic rock. It doesn’t look like a crab, but that isn’t the story.  

But … as my skills mature, I do want to explore different techniques that bring those images to life. Stay turned ….  

Are you someone who plans everything out, or do you leave room for surprises?  

There can be planning if I am traveling with a group. I usually go with a  list of possibilities, but once there, I usually forget that I had a list.

I have found that being present holds the most opportunities for ‘seeing’ or discovering instead of looking for something. I often find myself looking left when the rest of the group is looking right. I see the design or color, and I am trying to absorb it. In Jordan, some of the women helped capture patterns … they were everywhere!! So, I have learned … let’s not plan to find patterns or color, surprise me.  

What have you learned about yourself through your creative journey?  

As I look to the generations before me, the message has been that at my age, it is time to begin to slow down, focus on the upcoming retirement, and sit on that porch chair. Thankfully, times have changed.

I see a shift starting in my generation, that we don’t have to slow down in life or in our quilting. We can sit on the edge of a waterfall, we can find ourselves in a broken van in 102 heat, and get through it. I can navigate airports across the globe.  

We can learn from each other and support each other. I have learned so much from my travel tribe. They are all younger than I am. I am amazed with each one as they bring their experiences and lessons learned with them … and share them.  

The quilting space is the same. I was just in Ireland teaching, and I observed. Not just for instruction or help in the class, but where were they modifying techniques, what other projects were they working on, etc. Show and tells always inspire me.  

I guess what that means … I don’t need to be static in life, stuck. I can continue to challenge myself and grow. Until I can’t anymore.  

Is there a piece that changed the way you think about your art? 

It is the Celtic knots. Having them hang in an art gallery changes your perspective. They hang on the same walls as oil paintings. Our quilts need to hang in more galleries and side-by-side with other art mediums. 

You teach and present your work—how does teaching influence your own creativity?  

I love to see quilters break the rules, finding their voice, and creating quilts for others that have stories or memories associated them. It inspires me. 

What advice would you give to someone who wants to tell stories through their quilts?  

My first couple of Celtic knots … I wanted them to be literal. Think about what draws you to the memory. Color? Pattern? Textures? Build from that. 

Where can people see your work?

Instagram is @Sumac_Studios, and Facebook is @SumacStudios.

Finger crossed … I submitted for a new 2027 gallery exhibit for my Jordan quilts. I will announce on social media if I receive it.  

Rapid-Fire Fun:

Favorite place you’ve traveled for inspiration? It will always be Ireland. 

A color you keep coming back to? Quilt Your Adventure has changed that … my color choices have changed and change with each body of work. 

One word that describes your creative practice? Intentional

What’s bringing you joy in your work right now? Quilters who come up after a presentation and say … I have been so bored or I have an idea.

Interview posted April 2026

Browse through more inspiring art quilts on Create Whimsy.