Along with posting about each of the blocks for the No Girls Allowed Quilt Bee, we’ll be posting short bios on each of the participating quilters during their selected moths. Sandy G. is the January block recipient for the No Girls Allowed Quilt Bee, and he picked the awesome Lone Starburst block.
Sandy, can you tell a little about yourself and how you started quilting?
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.
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).
I like reading and watching Science Fiction, watching motor sports, travelling, and having fun with my boy.
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.
What type of quilter do you see yourself being, and how do you approach your quilting projects?
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.
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.
Why did you choose the Lone Starburst block?
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 and here.
Where can people find you if they want to know more?
You can find me in these places:
- Blog: Curly Boy Blog
- Instagram: Curly_Boy1
- Twitter: @Curly_boy1
- Flickr: Curly_boy
Thanks, Sandy, for picking an awesome block. We’ll continue to talk to more members of the NGAQB as the months progress.