Space and Embroidery - you can do it!

As you know, I'm a huge space geek, and my craft of choice is hand embroidery. I truly believe both subjects have a lot to offer in terms of education, creativity, innovation and inspiration. Because I'm also a big internet junkie, I've collected loads of resources that will help you explore both subjects. Enjoy!

Hand Embroidery Resources

Classes - I can't tell you how many times I've had a student in one of my embroidery classes say how much of a difference it makes to have someone, in person, show them how to do hand embroidery. Do yourself a favor and check out your local sewing or craft studios to see about trying a hand embroidery class.

Sublime Stitching - Jenny Hart has a lot of great patterns and tutorials on her web site. They are a great place to get started and are a lot of fun to stitch.

Needle 'n Thread - Mary Corbet is a master of embroidery, and provides some excellent tutorials and great how-to videos on her web site.


The CRAFT embroidery archives are filled with all kinds of great inspirational projects and how-tos.

Mr. X-Stitch is a great site for modern embroidery. Lots of interesting and fun stuff!

Pin Tangle - from Sharon B. I started this moon embroidery project in Sharon's Sumptuous Surfaces class.


The Flickr Embroidery Group offers loads of great inspiration and a great, supportive embroidery community.

The Flickr Embroidery Group Blog - Feeling Stitchy

Space Resources

NASA - NASA has done a great job of reaching out to folks through social media. Their Twitter feed is great, many astronauts are now on Twitter (some even tweet from space!) and their "following" list is filled with many must-follows on Twitter.


NASA TV - If you are lucky enough to have NASA TV on your cable line-up, be sure to check it out regularly. Even if you can't watch it on your television, you can watch it online. Watching NASA TV during a shuttle mission is especially exciting. It blows my mind to think that we can watch a spacewalk taking place *live* more than 200 miles above our heads. If we can, we should.

Space Tweep Society - This group has been huge in my connecting with loads of interesting, kind, supportive and enthusiastic space geeks on Twitter and beyond. I've made great friends, learned tons and have really enjoyed this community.

collectSPACE.com - Robert Pearlman has an incredible wealth of knowledge on all things related to the history of the space program. Members of the collectSPACE community are active, supportive and very knowledgeable. (and just darn cool)

Astronomy Picture of the Day - sometimes you just need some quick, visual inspiration. APOD is a great place for that!


And for more gorgeous inspiration, check out the Hubble web site.

These links are just a sampling of some of the great online resources for hand embroidery and space exploration. Consider them a jumping off point, and feel free to fall into these favorite obsessions of mine. :)