Here’s a neat little hand embroidery story – a combination of one woman’s love of hand embroidery and her life-long interest in all things space related.
Being the embroidery-obssessed person that I am, I think it would be a great step for mankind, to send a piece of hand embroidery out into space. And Rachel of Average Jane Crafter is trying to do just that. She embroidered this highly textured image of the moon, and it’s presently part of a contest sponsored by NASA and Etsy, in which the winning entry may go to the moon on one of the final space shuttle flights.
The embroidery on this is great! The stitch selection, the texture, the colors. So moon-ish! And so fun!
Rachel is a space nut. And I don’t mean that in a bad way! She has often written on her blog about her interest in the space program, astronautical stuff, and space in general. Her interest began as a child, and I love the fact that the interest has stuck with her into adulthood. It’s fun to see people so enthused about a pet subject.
She’s also enthusiastic about embroidery, and this is where our paths really cross. She teaches children (and adults, too, I believe) to embroider, which is a big plus in my book.
Of all art forms that could go on a ride out into space, don’t you think it would be fantastic if needlework were the one to go??! I think it would be!
Do you want to help? If so, it’s just a matter of voting for Rachel’s embroidery piece on Etsy.
If you’re a registered user of Etsy, you can visit the competition link and cast your vote. For registered Etsy users, it take less than 10 seconds to do this.
If you’re not a registered user, you have to register on Etsy before you can vote. It takes just a couple minutes to register and vote.
You’ll find other neat stuff on the competition voting page. But if you’re keen on hand embroidery making its way into space, only Rachel’s entry is hand embroidery! So look for her moon embroidery! Click the radial dial and the “submit your vote” button at the end of the page, and that’s it!
For further information, Rachel has a nice little 1-minute video on Vimeo that explains her interest in space and embroidery – it’s worth taking a look at.
You can also check out her post on the stitches used to create the moon piece on her blog. She shows close ups of the various stitchy areas, talks about the types of stitches she used, and gives references for stitch instructions.
If this little piece of hand embroidery wins this multi-artistic-media competition and makes it out into space, I think it would definitely rank as one of those “Three Cheers for Embroidery” moments!
And you know me. I’m always cheering for embroidery!
I think Rachel’s work is fabulous and it’s great that you’re publicising it, BUT I think she needs a MUCH better photograph on the Etsy voting page if she’s going to win. The one she’s using there just doesn’t have the impact of the others on the page.
Aw, thank you so much, Mary! You are the best. Needle ‘n Thread has long been my must-visit embroidery web site, and you have provided such great inspiration and instruction. You’ve also been such a great friend through supportive emails and great advice on teaching, I can’t stress enough how much help you gave me when I started teaching embroidery classes. Thank you a million times over! 🙂
XOXO
Rach
It’s done! 🙂
What a wonderful idea – embroidery in space!!!
What a gorgeous piece. If it does not go to the moon I hope it gets displayed somewhere at NASA.
Also a space nut. Want this piece, BADLY! Enough to register on Etsy.com and vote for it? Absolutely.
I’d already voted for this one and hope it wins!! Wouldn’t that be so fabulous to have a piece of embroidery going to space? I’m sure our forefathers(mothers?) would never have dreamt of the possibility!