Reader challenges are one of my favorite aspects of being part of the Quilting Arts editorial team. I love the anticipation of waiting to see what amazing creations our readers dream up. Reader Challenges are a wonderful way to create inspired works of art restrained by exciting challenges. They are also a great way to showcase work from you! Our most recent Challenge, ‘3-2-1-Blastoff!’ focused on the 20th anniversary (coming up in November 2018) of the International Space Station. We got so many amazing submissions for this challenge!

One of the Reader Challenge quilts, “Night Walk” by Maria Dzreeva was even chosen as the cover for this issue. Congratulations, Maria!

There were some amazing quilts in this challenge, here are just a few!

“Place in Space”

Glad Howard • Mudgeeraba, Queensland, Australia

“My son is a rocket scientist or, more precisely, a robotics engineer working in the space industry. On May 25, 2012 he was the leader of the team that enabled SpaceX’s Dragon capsule to be successfully plucked from orbit by the International Space Station’s robotic arm and docked with the Harmony module. The Dragon Spacecraft is important in resupplying the ISS and then returning significant amounts of scientific cargo back to earth. On that day, a NASA administrator commented, ‘It’s a great day for America. It’s a great day for the world.’ It was also a great day for a mother watching the historic event via the Internet. This is my textile interpretation of the iconic image captured by NASA cameras recording the event.”

“Space Walking”

Tonya Littmann • Denton, Texas

“My space woman is walking on a hand-dyed background, scattered with seed bead stars. Her space suit is white cotton, accented with fabric marker and free-motion stitching.”

“Beauty Beyond the Sky”

Bethany Barnes • Plaistow, New Hampshire

“Space is a magical place. We see a blue sky, a grey sky, stars at night, but in the great beyond are colors, stars, planets, and views that exceed our imaginations.”

Catch the full gallery of our finalists in the October/November 2018 issue of Quilting Arts!

Interested in seeing your artwork printed in Quilting Arts? Enter our latest reader challenge, ‘Artists Give Back: Heart of the Home,’ and donate a house themed quilt to charity. We will be featuring a selection of submissions in the April/May 2019 issue. We can’t wait to see all of these lovely quilts!

Sew long,

Katie

Ready for space-inspired projects and more that are out of this world?