Space and Stitchery (a.k.a. My Happy Place)

Having the chance to combine your passions is a pretty darn special treat, and when other folks respond positively to that ... well, it doesn't get much better. I'm so excited/honored/thrilled/stoked that my Hubble cross-stitch project won First Prize in the Funniest category of the ESA Hubble Pop Culture contest. Can you believe it? Nope - I can't, either.

I don't know that I was going for "funny" when I made the project, but considering the fact that humor is how I make it through any tough situations in life, I'll go ahead and take it. Not to mention the fact that First Prize carries some insanely awesome prizes. Hurrah!

This is the second time I've had a crazy idea for a project that combines my passions, but seems a little ... odd. One part of me said, "This is so dorky. Why would you bother?" but the bigger part of me said, "So what!? I like it! I'm doing it!" And when I went ahead with it, really fantastic things followed.

photo by Robert Pearlman of collectSPACE

So what does this mean to you? Well - I've had a postcard on my desk for years (actually, I can't find it at the moment, but it's seared in to my brain, so ...) it says, "Trust Your Crazy Ideas."

For reals, y'all. Trust those crazy ideas. Love what you do - do it with passion and most importantly, HAVE. FUN. DOING. IT. Don't worry about what other people think. And be sure to take things ... well ... One Screw at a Time.

You can read the full story behind the project in my original post about it.

When I was contacted about the win, the ESA folks asked several questions, the final one being if I had any favorite Hubble images. Here was my response:

I find most every image in the Hubble gallery inspiring, fascinating and humbling. Some of my favorite images, though, are pictures of the astronauts who have serviced Hubble through the years as they work on Hubble. More proof that humans are critical to space exploration.