Chris Jones is Mr. June (I was Mr. May just for the record – you will have to wait to see the results when I am finished).

Chris presented the most challenging block to date in my opinion.  It was a stacked diamond block.  Once I got the hang of it, it was not bad!  Again, I may have gotten carried away – I sent four.  Once you cut fabric, you might as well go for it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s everything that Chris shared!

• Do you have any nicknames, or go by any other name?
• I used to be heavy into online gaming (Everquest and World of Warcraft) so I have a few character names that people still call me. Typically, Chris is good enough to get my attention. I’ll answer to just about anything you call me though.

• Did you go to College? What did you study?
• One day I’ll make it back to school and get my Masters in counseling. I want to either be a licensed counselor, or teach psychology and anthropology on a college level.
• I started college with the expectation that I would get a biology and chemistry degree, and move on to work in a hospital as a phlobotomist or in a research lab. I was three classes shy of my biology degree when I took a psychology class on a dare. That one class changed everything that I had planned for my life; I ended up graduating from college with dual degrees. One in Psychology with an emphasis in Depth and Archetypal psychology, and one in Sociology with an emphasis in Anthropology.

• What do you do now?
• Right now I’m a SQL Developer/Data Administrator for an online book company (nope, not that one – not that one either). I’ve been with the company for fourteen years; I started with them two weeks after I graduated college. I started in the Customer Service department, and quickly moved up to CS Manager. I’ve held a position in just about every department within the company, and if I haven’t worked there, I work closely with them to generate reports or import data.

• When did you start quilting?
• When I graduated from college, I stopped quilting for a while. I was sucked in to the world of MMORPG, and barely had time for anything else but work. I picked up quilting again at the suggestion of a great friend at work. She introduced me to hand-piecing and I was in love again. I’ve done quite a few small projects, but I’ve yet to actually quit a top yet. I’m hoping that I’ll get to take some valuable time-off soon and try my mom’s new long arm or free motion quilting machines.
• I didn’t actually pick up quilting until I was in college and living with my mom’s family. She has a strong lineage of quilters, and I thought I might enjoy it. I grew up with my grandmother, who was a seamstress. She taught me how to sew, crochet, cross stitch, embroider and many other things.

• What other hobbies do you have?
• Outside of sewing/quilting, I love to cook, can, and garden. I just picked up canning this year, and I love it. There’s nothing more awesome than taking the things that you grow and preserving them to eat throughout the year. Though I don’t typically eat it, I love making jam, the stranger the flavour profile, the more fun. So far I’ve made mulberry jam, strawberry balsalmic jam, grape jelly, wild berry (strawberry, blueberry, mulberry) and apple butter. I’m trying out recipes for pineapple rum jam and mulled red wine jelly. They will likely be part of the family Christmas presents this year.

• Do you have pets?
• Yep, I have three furbabies that are the love of my life. A scottie named Finnigan, a Cairn named Ursula and a German Shepherd named Zahara. Ursula and Zahara were both rescues. We’re currently taking Zahara through obedience school right now.

• What is your favourite animal?
• Definitely a wallaby, with a giraffe coming in a close second. I want to make it to Australia one day so that I can see wallabys bounding around the countryside. (And I promise not to be freaked out by the drop-bears :))

• What is your favourite color?
• Orange, definitely orange. From pumpkin to safety vest, I love it all.

• If you could pick your own name, what would it be?
• For a long time I wanted to change my middle name (no, I won’t tell you what it is, but if you guess correctly, I’ll let you know) to Xavier. I’ve always loved that name, and I’m not really sure why.

• Which season is best?
• Fall will always have a special place in my heart. I love the color of the season. But now, because I really enjoy planning gardens, and digging in the dirt, I’d have to go with spring. The smell of the air right after a spring rain….it’s invigorating.

• If you could meet someone living or dead, who would it be?
• I’d love to see my grandfather again. He was such an amazing person. He was a short-order cook in the army, a recorded musician that wrote music, played the guitar, banjo and fiddle, and spent the greater portion of his adult life as a taxi driver. His routes ranged from around the block to across the country. He loved life, and never had a cross word for anyone. He, like my grandmother, really taught me how to “be” in this world and I love him for it. I’d love to see him again.

• How would you best describe yourself?
• I never know what to say with this question. I think the best thing that I can say is that my Meyer’s Briggs personality type is INFP. I’m introverted, usually very quiet and reserved, or in my own world. Feelings and emotions are important to me, and I am usually overflowing with them. I like to daydream, and don’t like strict rules.

• If you could be any fictional character,who would it be?
• I can’t narrow it down to one. I’d like to think that I’m equal parts Mindy Kaling, Aquaman, and Captain Jack Harkness in a candy-coated Lord John Grey shell.

• What is your biggest pet peeve?
• I probably have too many to mention here. I have a touch of an OCD streak that rears its ugly head from time to time. Right now the biggest thing that bothers me are leaves. I was out in the snow raking them the other day because I couldn’t stand seeing them all over the ground. As far as peeves from others, though, I don’t like people that use others for their benefit. Gets in my craw every time.

• Do you have siblings?
• Yep, I have a half brother and a step-sister. Both are grown, though my brother still lives with our parents.

• What kind of music interests you?
• I will listen to just about any type of music, except modern country. I just can’t get into it. As far as favourites…the sugarier the pop, the better. As of late I’ve been bouncing between bollywood hits and electronica.

• What book/movie/tv show can you not live without?
• TV is a guilty pleasure of mine; I watch way too much of it. I’m a card-carrying fandom member for Supernatural and Teen Wolf – can’t miss an episode. I don’t read as much as I should, but I like fantasy, historical fiction and romance books. Bernard Cornwell, Gregory McGuire, and Diana Gabaldon are a few of my current go-to authors.

Sandy Greenberg requested a paper piece star.  I love paper piecing!  Great way to start this bee.  I was excited.

Here’s what he got:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here’s a little about Sandy:

1. I’m Sandy Greenberg. I was born in 1969, while men were walking on the moon, in the suburbs of Chicago. Being an only child I was given lots of attention and, since both my parents were teachers, my creativity was encouraged. I studied art in high school, at Illinois State University and finally got my degree from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I didn’t do much with it, other than get a job screen printing t-shirts. The creative bug was pretty much burned out of me.I like reading and watching Science Fiction, watching motor sports, travelling, and having fun with my boy.
3. Fast forward a decade or two and after a pretty serious work accident (I sliced open my wrist cutting 9 of 22 tendons, 1 of three nerves and one of the arteries) I met a lovely Yorkshire lass online. Days and sparks flew and I moved to Leeds, UK and got married in 2002. We have a lovely 4 year old boy who has been with us for 2 ½ years now. We also have three cats called Jimmy (13 ½), Maggie (5) and Norman Price (14 weeks).
4. I am married to the super talented Brioni Greenberg, aka Flossyblossy. She’s been a quilter for about 6 years. She is one of the founders of Fat Quarterly ezine and is co-author of FQ’s first book (the second is on its’ way). She also had her first solo book come out this summer, “25 Ways to Sew Jelly Rolls, Layer Cakes and Charm Packs”. Having this influence in the house, and being constantly surrounded by fabric and projects it was pretty hard not to take an interest.

I approach quilting as a technical challenge. I am less bothered by the outcome and am more interested in the process. I LOVE paper foundation piecing! I have no interest or love of fabric however. I pay no attention to lines or designers, just pretty colours and patterns. I’m a fearless skilled amateur. My second ever project was a pattern of curved flying geese of my own design and everyone thought I was brave and crazy. I just did it because no one told me that I couldn’t.

1. I’m probably a modern quilter, I don’t really know. I tend to like uber complicated patterns with small pieces and bright rainbow palettes.
3. I chose the Lone Starburst block because I love it but didn’t fancy making enough for a whole quilt. You can find it here: http://quiltingclimber.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/designing-templates.html and here: http://thepeonyteacup.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/lone-starburst-paper-pieced-block.html
5. You can find me in these places: http://enfurnoh.blogspot.co.uk/
6. Curly Boy Blog

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