Quilting and UFOs

I was in a quandary today when I was trying to decide what to write my post about - you see, today is National Quilting Day AND Alien Abduction Day. Then I got to thinking, UFO is also a quilting term (for UnFinished Objects - those projects that get started and then tucked away for a later day), and then I thought "hmmm... I wonder if there's any alien quilts on Etsy". Silly me for even wondering - of course there was! I'll share a couple of favorites with you here as well, but first a little history on these two celebrations!

The National Quilting Association began sponsoring National Quilting Day with a resolution passed in June 1991, making this the 19th annual celebration! The third Saturday in March is officially designated as National Quilting Day, but observance of National Quilting Day has unofficially been expanded to the whole month of March! This year's Quilting Day theme and project is Let's tie one on... FOR THE TROOPS!

Here's some fun quilting trivia for your enjoyment:

Paducah, KY is "Quilt City, USA", and home to the National Quilt Museum.
Quilting as a sewing technique was first used in ancient Egypt.
The world's largest historical quilt (certified by the Guinness Book of World Records in 1988) measures 85 feet by 134 feet and depicts the counties of the state of North Dakota. Created through the efforts of 33 quilters, its home is in Antler, ND.
A "fat quarter" is a one-fourth yard cut of fabric that (usually) measures 18" x 22" instead of the typical 9" x 44" quarter-yard cut.
The earliest surviving quilted object is a quilted linen carpet found in a Mongolian cave
tomb, dated back to sometime between the last century BC and the first century AD. It is housed in the collection of the Leningrad Department of the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of the Sciences of the Union of the Soviet Republic.

Some thought provoking trivia about alleged alien abductions:

An alien abduction is classified as a close encounter of the fourth kind.
My home state of Arizona has an alien abduction story - that of Travis Walton (the movie Fire in the Sky was made based on his alleged abduction), a logger who disappeared for five days outside of Snowflake, AZ in 1975 . His story, while not proven cannot be disproven either.
The most common type of extraterrestrial involved in an alien abduction? A "Grey" - conjectured by some to be from Zeta Reticuli, a binary system located 40 light years away.
Some surveys conducted count the percentage of the world population that has been abducted by ETs at somewhere between 5 and 6%.

Now that you know a bit more about Quilting and alien abductions, I'd love to share the great quilts I found while researching this article on Etsy! Please take a moment to look at these lovely works of artistic stitchery and visit the shops for even more goodies - and have a wonderful Saturday!





This adorable (and oh so appropriate for today's post) Space Alien and Orange Fleece Quilted Blanket is available from jsanvido on Etsy.












Of course quilts make great pieces of wall art as well. This sweet quilted wall hanging from VABeachQuilter - Suzy - Patches little sister - would make a great decor piece for any baby girl's nursery or young girl's bedroom or play area.













For quilting on a smaller scale, this WHOA... SPACESHIPS Quilted Fabric POSTCARD Art would be a great greeting for your favorite ET loving friend. You can find this at attackofthevintage on Etsy!













Last but by no means least, this lovely Touch of Country Sewing bag , Needle book and Pincushion set from DashasCreations on Etsy is perfect for those of you who love to be able to take your sewing projects along with you wherever you go - and would make a great gift for that friend or daughter or mom or aunt who is always working on a project (although hopefully not a future UFO!)


Well, I think I did it - managed to blend National Quilting Day with Alien Abduction Day. Whichever subject is closer to your heart, you can bet that you can find some great pieces somewhere on Etsy!