Karen Nyberg Quilting Patterns and Earth View Thread Set

Karen took her lifelong love of creating art with her to space. While there, she captured the beauty of space through her photography. She also crafted and stitched together a toy dinosaur for her son which she made out of scraps of fabric recycled from the lining of the Russian cosmonauts' food containers.

When Karen lived on the International Space Station, she and NASA invited crafters from around the world to join a project to stitch together a global community quilt. Karen stitched a 9” square star-themed quilt block in space and encouraged others to create their own star-themed quilt blocks on earth. No one realized how quickly the project would grow. NASA received over 2400 quilt squares from around the world. Many of the squares were accompanied by letters and personal stories of how space travel and the worldwide space program had impacted lives. A team of NASA and Johnson Space Center volunteers quilted the squares together and created 28 king sized quilts. The quilts were showcased at the 40th Anniversary International Quilt Festival in Houston. Quilt blocks from Ohio and California were put next to blocks from Australia and Japan. A New Orleans block was placed next to a block from Russia and the UK. The panels spanned the globe and the completed quilts represent a truly interconnected world.

Karen currently finds inspiration for her artwork from everyday life. Her most recent favorites are textile artworks inspired by her family. She also works on artist commissions for clients and brands.