Friday Chats with Grandma Behind the Scenes on the Sewing with Nancy show and a giveaway!

Happy Holidays everyone and thanks for coming back to hear more of my adventure of being on the Sewing with Nancy show.  I have to say when I first got a call from my publisher telling me I was invited to be a guest on Nancy's show I about fell over.  I grew up watching her and couldn't believe she wanted me as a guest for her show!  I was even more amazed to get a call from her personally, but after just a quick minute my amazement turned straight to comfort as she was so friendly and genuine, I just knew I would be in good hands.  I have to say though, the idea of being on camera terrified me a bit, and I am not used to traveling solo, nor do I drive very much, and this trip involved multiple flights, a car rental, 2 different hotels- I found myself extremely nervous and feeling not so confident about the idea of it all.  I reached out to my Mom who asked my wonderful Grandma to join me.  When Grandma called me to tell me she would be able to go with me I was so relieved.  I knew I needed a buddy for this trip and she was the perfect companion.  Grandma lives in the Seattle/Tacoma area in Washington state and I live in Southern California, but we met in the middle and traveled on to Madison Wisconson together.  Seeing her absolutely made my day- It had been over a year, and she looked so saavy and ready for an adventure... as her granddaughter I couldn't have been more impressed with her.  From there got a car rental and headed out to the small town in Wisconsin that Nancy's offices are located in, as well as Nancy's Notions (but more on that later).

We started the next day following Nancy's right hand woman Donna to the offices.  We were warmly greeted by all the staff at her offices, as well as given an amazing tour of the space, which was filled to the brim with beautiful projects and quilts that has been on the show over the years.  After that it was straight to business, but not before being treated to Nancy's homemade zucchini chocolate chip bread- she shares a version of the recipe in her book Seams Unlikely, which I highly recommend as an excellent read (and the bread was delicious).  We spent the rest of our morning having a meeting about the show, and then were taken by Nancy and Donna to a beautiful lunch, then a scenic tour through the historic downtown, finally to then spend the afternoon touring Nancy's Notions, and getting to shop!  Yay!!  Then it was a fantastic dinner with Donna and off to bed early for filming the next day.

We had to travel into Madison early the next morning for filming, and Nancy rode with us.  Grandma drove and she and Nancy really had a nice chat which was great for me as I was so nervous I wasn't feeling quite up to chatting.  Once I got there we went to the green room and I got to meet the makeup artist who was very nice and put me at ease.  We filmed the first segment of the show in the morning and it went very smoothly.  Nothing is perfect and I sure didn't give a perfect performance, nerves were a definite factor, but Nancy is a pro, and she makes it easy for all the others she works with, she got me through it.  Later we had lunch and then filmed the second segment, which will be available to view next week.  It went even smoother and faster, and we were done by the early afternoon.  Working with Nancy was truly an honor and such a privilege.  It was a very enjoyable time, and by the time it was over I was a little sad it had gone by so fast.  Grandma and I celebrated that evening with a wonderful dinner and drink- and had a great time talking about how fun it all was.  I am so grateful I got to do this, and the best part is that now all my readers can get a visual reference of what I am doing on film, which is a great accompaniment to the book!  I  am giving away a signed copy of the book this week, comment below to win, tell me what your favorite Nancy Zieman book or episode of Sewing with Nancy is.  I will select the winner randomly next Friday.  I asked Grandma to share about the trip for her experience, here is what she had to say.

In the Pacific Northwest we are fortunate to have a Public Television station that every Saturday morning shows a  lineup of sewing and quilting shows. They have done this for many years and I am a faithful watcher. When you watch these shows for such a long time you begin to feel like these celebrities are your friends, but never in my wildest imagination did I think I would actually get to meet one of them. Then I got the call from Molly telling me she was going to be on the Sewing With Nancy show and would I like to come along with her and watch the process. Well, I couldn’t pack my bags fast enough. We traveled to Beaver Dam Wisconsin and spent two very wonderful days doing the two shows.

I don’t know exactly what I expected, but I know I felt as giddy as a teenager. We were greeted by Nancy herself and she made us feel very welcome and allowed me to be part of everything that went on. They saw to our every need and Nancy, herself, treated us to a delicious sweet bread she had made that morning herself. The suite of offices that make up Nancy Zeiman Productions is lined with many of the quilts that we have seen on the various shows. I was especially thrilled to get to see the landscape quilts Nancy had done a series on.

Getting to go to the TV studio and watch the process unfold from the makeup to the final taping was an indescribable thrill. I had never seen the inside of a TV studio. It is full of technology and equipment and yes, it does have a green room. I was allowed to sit in the control room for the entire day of taping and that way I could see everything that went on and what the “behind the camera” process is like. It takes many people to make a show happen.

There really aren’t words I can think of that adequately explain what I felt during our two day stay. To watch my granddaughter get the recognition she so deserves was a moment of profound proudness. To be treated with the kindness the entire staff showed us and to be allowed to tag along on such an important event is a memory I cherish. Thank you to Nancy Zeiman and her staff, and most especially to Molly for making this all possible. Hugs to you all.  

Grandma Pat

Grandma and I when we met up at the airport

getting ready for makeup

grandma got to view the taping like this, which she found fascinating

Donna is sitting in my chair prepping the sewing area and Nancy is behind her machine

Nancy and I