NASA Astronaut Karen Nyberg Invites Quilters to Contribute a Star Block

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Oct 31, 2013, 03:28 ET

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- International Space Station Expedition 37 Flight Engineer Karen Nyberg of NASA, a lifelong lover of sewing, is inviting fellow crafters to join her in stitching together a global community space quilt.

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Nyberg, who is in the final weeks of her mission aboard the orbiting laboratory, recently shared a star-themed quilt block she was able to complete during her limited free time in space. She is now inviting quilters from the public to create their own star-themed quilt blocks to help celebrate her mission and passion for the quilting arts.

"Now that I've tried my hand sewing in space, I can say one thing with certainty: it's tricky," Nyberg said in a video sent down from the space station. "This is what I've made. It's far from being a masterpiece, but it was made in space. I'm inviting all of you to create your own star-themed quilt block. We'll be combining them with my block to create a quilt for next year's 40th anniversary International Quilt Festival in Houston. I can't wait to see what we make together."

Nyberg's complete video and other video clips of her quilting aboard the space station will be featured in a NASA exhibit at the 39th annual International Quilt Festival Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 3 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. Sewing and quilting include many of the principles and technical skills used in developing equipment for spaceflight missions. The exhibit will include sewn samples from spacesuits and parachutes, a cargo transfer bag and other soft goods from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The deadline for submitting a block for the quilt is Aug. 1, 2014. For more information about where to send your block, visit:

http://www.quilts.com

Nyberg and The International Quilt Festival will collaborate on having the squares stitched together for display at the 40th annual International Quilt Festival in 2014 and at other public displays. The Houston festival is the largest annual quilt festival in the world, attracting more than 60,000 guests annually.

Nyberg arrived at the space station with Fyodor Yurchikhin of the Russian Federal Space Agency and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency in May. The trio is scheduled to return to Earth Nov. 10.

For Nyberg's complete biography, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/np5ICw

For more information about Nyberg's personal sewing hobbies visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/CraftyKaren

To see video of Karen describing sewing in space and showing the quilt square in space, visit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0c1CijmH7o

For more about the 39th annual International Quilt Festival, visit:

http://www.quilts.com

For more information about the International Space Station, onboard research and crew members, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

SOURCE NASA