Block Party Quilters

Dr. Karen Nyberg is a retired NASA astronaut, engineer, and lifelong textile artist who uniquely connects quilting and space exploration. During her 166-day mission aboard the International Space Station, she became the first person to quilt in space, stitching a star block from recycled materials — an act that inspired the NASA Astronomical Quilt Block Challenge and thousands of quilters worldwide.

Since retiring from NASA, Karen has focused on textile art and sustainability, designing fabric collections with Robert Kaufman Fabrics inspired by her Earth photography from orbit. She also co-created the Lunar Quilt Challenge, a global initiative celebrating creativity, heritage, and humanity’s connection to space, which culminated in a showcase at the Kennedy Center.

Karen’s work bridges science and artistry, inspiring quilters to see their craft as part of a powerful story connecting Earth and the cosmos.

Welcome to the world of Scrappy Wonky Quilting!

Join us for a scrappy wonky lecture and trunk show. We will open your eyes and your mind to a world of quilting without templates and harsh guidelines. It's time to take back our fabric scraps and make something exciting and original… and we're going to show you how we did just that. Born from the need to be able to park our car in the garage again (scraps take up a lot of space!) and the desire to make quilts without following "the rules," Scrappy Wonky Quilt Block Extravaganza will free your mind and your creative spirit with vibrant, wonky, wonderful designs. 

Come one, come all! View the glory that is the Scrappy Wonky Quilt Block Extravaganza way of quilting!

A Lesson in Every Quilt

This is a one-hour lecture where I show over 40 of my quilts and describe the lessons learned in making each quilt. Over half the quilts were made using the Quilt-As-You-Go method, but I also show other quilts and techniques I’ve tried over the years. I include a short video lesson on how to make a two-sided binding, and I will also show the ugliest quilt I’ve ever made and tell you about the lessons I learned! 

In this engaging lecture, Robin O'Neil explores the dynamic landscape of quilting through the lenses of traditional, modern, and improvisational practices.  She defines each category, compares their visual language and philosophical underpinnings, and shares vivid examples to illustrate how thesestyles intersect, diverge, and continue to evolve.

With decades of experience as both an educator and artist, Robin offers insight into how quilts tell stories of heritage, innovation, and personal expression.  Perfect for quilters of all backgrounds, this talk invites curiosity, conversation and inspiration.

Robin is a textile artist and educator whose intuitive, freeform quilts burst with color, texture, and movement.  With a background in philosophy and special education, she began quilting in 1973 and later abandoned templates to embrace spontaneity.  Her large-scale works are tactile celebrations of creativity, joy, and wonder.  Robin has taught nationally, completed a residency at Chateau d'Orquevaux, and has featured on PBS and at QuiltCon.  Her quilts invite connection through bold expression and fearless improvisation.

Spotlight: Robin O'Neil, Quilter and Designer - Create Whimsy

Value is an elusive and powerful tool at play in many of the quilts you see and love.  But what exactly is it?  Join Giuseppe Ribaudo of Guicy Guice as he illustrates what value is and how to harness its unbelievably versatile applications.

In this lecture, Giuseppe will discuss basic color theory and how you can make any and all colors work with one another by utilizing value.  You'll leave the lecture with a more thorough understanding of color and value that you can apply to quilts of your own.  

Giuseppe learned garment sewing early from his grandmother, but it wasn't until college that he discovered quilting.  He began with improvisational quilts before moving into modern traditional territory.  In 2018 he released his first of many fabric collections.[

Come join your BPQ community for 6-7 hours of quilting fun.  Indulge in a few hours of creativity and bonding with fellow quilting enthusiasts - a great opportunity to make memories and new friends!  Setup starts at 9:30 am, exit by 4:30 pm.

What a perfect prospect for help with pesky projects needing new inspiration.

Registration (required, to know how many swag bags and tables are needed) opens January 1, sign up early to save your spot.

Suggested items to bring (optional):

1.  "White elephant" pattern(s) in a paper bag for a friendly exchange game

2. Lunch for yourself, tea bags, snacks to share (refrigerator available)

3. Tools and supplies needed for your project

Fabulous time to get that project done!  We will provide:

1. Great working space

2. Several design walls

3. Cutting & ironing stations

4. "Free table" to swap treasures

5. Coffee and hot water for tea

Free to BPQ Members.

Non-members $27.00  (incl 10.2% sales tax of $2.50)

Join quilt designer Brooke of Eudaimonia Studio for an immersive journey that explores the profound connection between mindful making and modern design.  This presentation is an invitation to see quilt-making as a practice of intention, where every choice, geometric shape, and composition carries deeper meaning.

As Brooke unveils over 20 of her original quilts, she will share the personal stories and philosophical inspirations woven into each one.  You'll get a look behind the curtain of how ancient wisdom amd spiritual concepts like wu wei (the art of effortless flow) can inspire a quilt of sweeping curves, and how sharp angles come to symbolize the beauty in brokenness and healing.  Through her quilts, you will discover the beauty of experimenting with color, incorporating modern shapes, and playing with scale.

Pat will talk about how we are all creative but don't recognize it as creativity.  In this trunk show she will show how problem solving is basically using your creativity to come up with different solutions.  Pat is always trying to solve problems along the way.  Whether our creativity shows itself in how we dress , how we decorate our home, how we talk to others, how we cook or garden, it all takes creativity.

Pat will provide tips on how to encourage the creativity within each of us.

CREATIVITY IS INTELLIGENCE HAVING FUN ... not Einstein

Quilt designs with curves draw me in every single time.  Whether big or small, improvised or precise, drunkard's path or quarter circle square, I love analyzing what makes a curve work in a design.  And I absolutely love sewing with them.  

During our time together, you'll see how understanding the geometry in a curve will help sew curves of all kinds.  The lecture is part inspiration, part demo, and the tiniest part high school geometry.

By the end, you'll be ready to sit down at your sewing machine and give curves a try!