Fancy A Space-To-Earth Quilting Bee? Here’s Your Chance To Participate

From guitar playing to quilting, it’s clear that the astronauts aboard the International Space Station have excellence in other interests besides their core jobs. NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg, shortly finishing up her nearly half-year mission in space as part of Expedition 35/36, is an accomplished crafter. She’s found time to make a dinosaur from spare scraps and several headbands to keep her long hair from flying in her face. And now she wants you to join with her work.

Despite her skill in crafting, however, Nyberg says working in microgravity is quite the challenge. She keeps all her supplies in a ziploc so they don’t go flying in all directions when she’s not using them. A pile felt board keeps everything secured while she is working on a piece.

But measuring and cutting when you can’t lay something down means working takes a long, long time. That’s what makes this single nine-inch-by-nine-inch quilting block below so precious.

Nyberg says her work is “far from being a masterpiece”, but is inviting other quilters to share the metaphorical stage with her creation. Quilters anywhere in the world can make star pieces of their own and send it to the International Quilting Festival organizers for display in fall 2014. If all goes well, Nyberg expects to make an appearance to view the creation herself.

Here’s a short summary of the requirements (which you can read officially on this page):
– Have a star theme;
– 9.5 inches (24 centimeters) square;
– One block per person, signed on the front with a permanent marker marking name and location;
– Mail by Aug. 1, 2014 to “Star Block Challenge, Attn: Rhianna Griffin, 7660 Woodway Ste. 550, Houston, TX 77063.”

By the way, the full video of Nyberg explaining her sewing challenges makes you sympathize with how hard microgravity can be. Although the backflip she does at the end likely makes up for at least some of it, right?