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Apr 2022
23m 54s

The astronaut who made a quilt in Space

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Dr Karen Nyberg has many talents. She's an engineer and astronaut, but she's also an avid quilter, so when she joined the International Space Station in 2013, she took her sewing kit with her. She created a nine-inch, star-themed quilt square in orbit which inspired over two thousand other quilters to do the same. Karen tells Jo Fidgen about the challenges of quilting in zero gravity and of leaving her three-year-old son and husband - also an astronaut - behind on earth. She's now designed a collection of fabrics called Earth Views based on photographs she took from Space.

The archive clips you heard came courtesy of NASA. Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: June Christie

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

(Photo: Dr Karen Nyberg with her quilt square in space. Credit: NASA)

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