Nancy Zieman: Extraordinary Grace

 

Wisconsin Public Television recently aired a documentary in homage to Nancy Zieman, aka Sewing with Nancy.  Seems like she's been on tv for most of my life.  She started her tv show in 1982.   I didn't really start watching it until the early 2000s when I started quilting.  That was also a time when I had a professional career, and a family, and little time for myself in between.  Sewing, quilting, and otherwise nurturing my creative life was how I got back to myself.  As Alice Walker says : “Whenever you are creating beauty around you, you are restoring your own soul.”   Saturday mornings, I would tune in with my notebook in hand, taking notes on her projects and techniques--especially all the shortcuts for quilting, but even practical things like how to install a zipper, too.  I bought several books like the Landscape Quilting series and I Love My Feet (all about the various sewing machine feet).  I learned a lot from Nancy Zieman, and I am grateful to her for sharing her knowledge so patiently and clearly in my living room. 

She lived just down the road in Beaver Dam, WI.  I'd been to her Nancy's Notions store a few times, especially when I needed to stock up on sewing machine needles. Though sometimes it was just as easy to order from her catalog.  According to the documentary, Nancy's Notions began on her dining room table with 10 items on a 1-page order form, and from there it blossomed into the business it became.   When she taught or demoed projects and techniques, people wanted the tools she was using -- and thus began Nancy's Notions.

She came a few times to our local Quilt Guild to speak and present.  She was always happy to do it.  She sponsored that big Quilt Expo in Madison.  I had no idea she had so many health problems later in life. 

When I had heard of her death in 2017, it was one of those moments when the earth shakes.  I felt like I'd lost a great mentor and teacher and friend.   And the world had lost someone kind and caring.

She was an unlikely tv personality because she had Bell's Palsey when she was a kid, due to an ear infection when she was a toddler.  It left her face partially paralyzed.  As you can guess, that was a difficult thing to overcome -- people always judging her before really knowing her.  It was a hurdle she worked hard to overcome.  And she did it -- marvelously!   One episode she even brought on a Neurologist (doctor) who could explain to her audience what Bell's Palsy was.   They no longer had to be curious about it.   She was a teacher first and foremost, and her classroom happened to be a television audience. 

Thank you, Nancy Z.  You made the world a better place.  Sigh!

Nancy Zieman: Extraordinary Grace 

• You can watch the whole program on Passport if you are a regular subscriber to WPT. 
• Or wait for them to re-run it live on your own PBS station
  

Preview for the documentary 

These days, you can watch Sewing With Nancy  on multiple channels and across the internet including on  

• YouTube 
• Create TV 
• Public Television
•  and online at nancyzieman.com.
  

Farmer's Wife Blocks - 104 Wild Geese - 12 Broken Sugar Bowl - 9 Box

Block 104 - Wild Geese

 

Paper-pieced, except for the middle hourglass block.  

B&W Version

I realized a little too late that the green and blue were too close in value (as in, if this photo were black and white, you wouldn't really be able to tell the difference between those parts of the block).  First I made a blue and green hourglass block for the center, but felt it was too dark, so I made a second one with half cream to brighten it up.   The biggest question was which color to accentuate? The green or the blur?  I opted for blue.

Block 12 - Broken Sugar Bowl

 Not paper-pieced.  I'm not crazy about these kinds of half-square blocks, because they look sharp and pointy.  Yes-- like one of those crystal candy dishes. 

Not much to say about this one.  I did decide that if I used the same blue or green in all three blocks for the week, that it would be enough to tie into the overall quilt -- at least that's my theory today. 

Block 9 - Box

 Not paper-pieced.  Pretty straight-forward with half-square triangles.  The tines of the star create a rotary motion in and of themselves.  I used a scrap green for the center to bring even more movement and interest-- or maybe to slow it down, and make it a little more organic -- like ripples on water.

 

Tutorials from Handmade Karma for Week 11.

See Handmade Karma's full set of Farmer's Wife blocks and tutorials.

In the Dye Pot: Kettle-Dyed Sock Yarn

Since I finished a new pair of socks, I felt like I had depleted my stash of dyed sock yarn.   So -- out with the colors ...  I looked over my already mixed Procion dye stocks in the basement wet studio and chose several old blues (Strong Blue, Turquoise, Sky Blue) and decided to use them up in a no-dye-left-behind stance.

 

I also mixed up a batch of Black Cherry.  

Using Dharma's instructions for Procion Dye on wool (no soda ash, as it can destroy the protein fibers).   I sized it for roughly 1/2 pound of fiber, or 2 balls of merino wool yarn, each at 100 grams. [Actually, this is what I SHOULD HAVE DONE.  I miscalculated, and thought my 2 balls of yarn required a double batch ofdye.  That's why it came out darker than expected, without the flecks of white for a nice gradient.]

Pre-soak the balls of yarn in room-temp water for about 30 minutes.

In the Dye Pot,
1-1/2 T salt
1/3 cup white vinegar
Enough water to cover / submerge the balls of yarn.
Heat this until it gets just ready to simmer.

For the dye concentrates, I mixed up
1 tsp dye powder with
about 2 cups warm water.
1 put that in a plastic bottle with a tight-fitting cap, so I could shake it up until the dye powder was completely dissolved.

Once the dye pot was hot enough (just ready to simmer, not boil), I added the dye concentrate -- not usually the entire bottle (except for the teal). Stir that up.
Then add the balls of yarn.

Then I let them simmer on the stove for about 1 hour.  I am amazed at how the Procion dye nearly exhausts with this technique -- I see that a lot with the food coloring, but usually not with the Procion on cotton.

Spoon Butter

Wooden Spoons get a spa day!

Aren't those olive wood utentils gorgeous!

Craft Week continues!  I refurbished the wooden spoons this morning.  

They were looking a little dull, tired and dried out.  We all get that sometimes ...  Time for a spa day!

  

The recipe is remarkably simple:

• 2 oz. beeswax
• 5 oz. mineral oil
• 3 drops lemon essential oil 

Melt the beeswax (with 1 oz mineral oil) in a jar in a pan of simmering water, approximating a double boiler.   When the wax has melted, add the rest of the mineral oil.  Let that melt and mix.

Now it's easy to condition your wooden spoons!  Just rub it in ...

This also seems to work for the plastic pot handles, that can also get tired and dried out. 

 

 

 

Christmas Simmer Pot Gift Jars

Christmas Simmer Pot:

Cranberries, Orange and Lemon Peel, Cinnamon, Cloves, Pine Branches.

Smells like mulled cider!

I am on vacation all week: Craft Week at home.  With the pandemic raging at ridiculous proportions,  and not being able to gather for the Holidays, I decided to spread a little Christmas Cheer by making up these little gift jars so friends can aromatherapy their way to merry & bright.

The basic instructions and the printable labels came from An American Patriette.   I did not add the water -- as I was going to be delivering them to people's doors, and wasn't sure if they might sit out overnight and get frozen.   Fortunately, 3 of 4 people were home, and happy to greet me and chat outside for a bit, or go for a walk.  Felt good to reconnect with old friends. 

 

I am also mailing 2 jars, so included dry ingredients (lemon rind, orange slices) no cranberries.

Puts me in the mood for Riu Riu Chiu, one of my favorite Christmas Carols.    Enjoy!

Weaving Yarns for more Circle Scarves

Ordered some new yarn from WEBS to make a few more of those circle scarves:

I could not bear to tear down the loom if it was all set up and "programmed" to make more of those delicious circle scarves.   I had the system down for keeping track of the 72 treadles changes in the pattern repeat.  Why not make more?  One problem:  Yarn Barn of Kansas didn't have any more of the yarns included in the kit (Jagerspun merino laceweight black and that red cashmere.)  So I went shopping with some birthday money ... and the webs discounts made the savings worthwhile esp. with these more expensive yarns. 

First I thought I could dye my own, but then remembered how hard it is to get a true black on wool.  Better just buy that one.  

Here's what I purchased:  

 

Valley Yarns 2/14 Alpaca Silk 

Alpaca and silk lace weight black on a 1/2-pound cone, suitable for weaving, and strong enough for warp.   I know what' I'll be doing next weekend!

 

Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace

Here's another lacewieght that I hope will be strong enough for warp someday.  I can dye this some other color if I so desire.  This is a mix of silk and wool (like I'm spinning at the wheel).  It was half price, and I couldn't pass it up.   Should be strong enough for warp and soft enough for weft.  I'll have to see about the weight.

 

Cashmere, merino and silk mixes in colors for the weft: red, green, and blue.

Hedge Hog Fibers Cashmere Merino - Plump (color)

 This is a little more fuscia-y than anticipated.  Maybe a dip in a little Red Wine dye bath?

 

 

Jade Sapphire Mongolian Cashmere 2-ply  

 

 

SweetGeorgia CashSilk Lace  

Didn't see the green in this when I ordered it. I was thinking it would be more of a singular blue ... Might not work for this project.

May the warping commence!

More Face Masks because the Pandemic Rages On ...

 

Covid Face Mask. Version 2.3 

Using some of my most favorite Klimt fabric.

Also got a new smart phone, so I can actually take selfies now.

I've been making more face masks because the Covid pandemic continues ...  Hopefully, these will be the last ones I have to make.    

I came across this nifty DIY face mask support frame (made by Barb) back in September.  So simple, and it works so well!   It keeps the mask off your face so that you don't feel claustrophobic.  Even better -- It keeps your glasses from fogging up.  I wish I'd have found it sooner!  You can buy commercial ones, too. But these DIY versions work just as well.  You can use recycled plastic, or I used one of those cheap thin plastic cutting boards.  Very easy to cut and flexible -- and clean.   Here's the pdf version.  

 

I've also been seeing an extra flap of fabric over the bridge of the nose that helps prevent your glasses from fogging up.  So I've incorporated those innovations into the masks I'm making now. 

I still use the simple no pleat / gathered face mask pattern.   I really hated dealing with pleats, and the ties give your ears a break too.  We cinch it with a pony bead or one of those cord stoppers (What are they called?

 

Here is is with the mask spreader / sling inside.  It holds it's shape nicely.  Here you can also clearly see that simple little bead that makes it easy to cinch it up quickly and efficiently. 

Here is a shot of the inside, where you can see the filter pocket, along with the simple nose flap.  With the new nose flap, I don't think we need a nose wire.  This seems to be staying in the right place and keeping my glasses from fogging.  

We are using 5-ft boot laces for the cording.  It's soft, but maybe a little thick.

 

1 for CL, 2 for OKL, and 1 for my Dad. 

More masks: 2-3 for JLC and Bruce; 1 for KS.

Farmer's Wife - Bonus Economy Block

Farmer's Wife - Economy Block

Bonus Economy Block - Made with Oshkosh B-Gosh blue pin-striped denim and a red bandana fabric.  The biggest challenge here was finding a suitable focus for the middle.    This one might look familiar -- It's one of the blocks from last week.  I'm a big fan of this simple block, and couldn't resist giving it another go with some other fabrics.  

The pin-striped denim and red bandana fabric are leftover from this project: 

 

 

 

 

 

"Birdhouse in your Soul"

by They Might be Giants

 

Farmer's Wife - Blocks 58 Mother's Dream - 75 Rosebud - 94 Tall Pine Tree

 

Block 58, Mother's Dream  

Paper pieced. 

 

 

Block 75, Rosebud

Paper pieced.  This is one I was looking forward to working on.  Rosebud is one of those classic old blocks, and one that is featured in The Quiltmaker's Gift.

The frosty gray background is one of my favorite fabrics.  This is just about the last of it from my stash.  I am also fond of the pink buds.  Not so much of the green, though ... 

 

Block 94 Tall Pine Tree 

Paper pieced.  You can see I had a little trouble with some bits of sky, where it needed some extra patching.  And I inadvertently revered the fabric in the lower right side where you can barely see the branches.  I was not motivated to re-do the block.    

I wanted to like this block if only because my dad has a Christmas tree farm, but I think it's this week's dud block. 

Tutorials from Handmade Karma for Week 10.

See Handmade Karma's full set of Farmer's Wife blocks and tutorials.

Farmer's Wife Blocks - Blocks 107 Windblown - 92 Streak of Lightning - 29 Economy

Block 29, Economy  

The great irony of this one is that it's called the economy block because with careful calculations, you can be thrifty and enlarge a quilt with a minimum of fabric.  I've done it before ...  But the instructions for this were for paper piecing, which notoriously wastes fabric.   I only needed to make one in this style ...  but I am considering making another one just because I am rather fond of this block.  ;-)

The bird is leftover from another project -- the carrying case/tote I made for my Singer Featherweight.

I took some advice from Portlandia and "Put a bird on it!"

 

Block 107, Windblown

 

This one really wasn't too bad, once you learn to make the half-square triangles.  Then it's just a matter of lining them up and sewing them together.  You'll notice the dark triangles on the bottom.  Those were supposed to be light blue, but I goofed when I was trimming the HSTs, and I didn't want to start from the beginning.  So I looked through my scrap pile and found some leftover from previous blocks.  Instant design choice ...  The dark blue adds some gravity (like an anchor) and keeps the other colors flying -- in motion.  Although -- I have to admit, that defies one of Doug Johnson's cardinal rules of Art:  Put the dark heave stuff on top, let it press down on everything else.  If that's the case, I guess I could just flip this block around ...

 

I had to use my Quilter's Moonshine (2 capfuls of vodka in a spray bottle with 1 cup water) on this one as it didn't want to lay flat.  That causes some distortion of it's own, but it's still better than it was before!

 

Most of the leaves have fallen off our trees here--except for a few tenacious oak trees.  

 

I've always liked this block -- esp. because it's featured in the Quiltmaker's Gift storybooks, and accompanying quilt patterns.  

 

Block 92, Streak of Lightning

Then there's this one.   I was thinking I only had 2 blocks to work up this week, then I saw this one, and my heart kind of sank.  This block as laid out was kind of a dud, IMHO.  I know -- They can't all be winners.   I have to give Handmade Karma credit for mixing up the fun blocks along with the duds in such a way that we get them all done.  The duds get pulled along with the energy and charisma of the prettier, more fun blocks.   

The instructions recommended cutting out all the pieces and stitching it together.  I've been quilting long enough to recognize when a certain technique might be more appropriate, so I did my own thing here and strip-pieced 4 2-1/2 inch strips into what Nancy Zieman (Sewing with Nancy) called stratas, and then subcut them into 1-1/2 inches and arranged them.   I think it worked out much better -- and makes for a more stable, well-behaved block.  Less distortion than compared to the windlblown block above.

With these 3, I have 20 of 111 blocks done!

Tutorials from Handmade Karma for Week 9.

See Handmade Karma's full set of Farmer's Wife blocks and tutorials.

Bright Winter Blues Quilt Top is Done

 

Bright Winter Blues Quilt Top

Finished this quilt top.  I love it!  I'm calling it the Bright Winter Blues Quilt Top because it reminds me of those crystal clear blue skies you get in winter, sort of like this:

 

The Fabric is from a jelly roll called Blue Brilliance.  

Border fabric is a white with metallic highlights.  Very pretty, but does not photograph well.

This is the Fuzzy Logic  pattern from Strip Therapy) and the same pattern I used for the Copper Canyon/Autumn Copper Batik and Stained Glass Quilts.  It's a very satisfying quilt pattern. ;-)

I'm hoping to get it sandwiched this month, so I can start to tie it, and then quilting.  I want to be able to use this quilt for the coming winter.  ;-)

 

Previous posts about this quilt:

 Plans for the Brilliant Winter Blues Quilt

Farmer's Wife Blocks - 79 Silver Lane - 97 Waste Not

 Block 79, Silver Lane

The outer border was paper pieced.  Made entirely with scraps.

This one little block took about 2-1/2 hours to complete. Sheesh!

 

Block 97, Waste Not

After this one was all together and pressed, it occurred to me that the outer medium blue could have been green. 

Paper pieced with scraps.

I finally bought a ream of pulp paper from Amazon to use for the paper piecing templates.  I was getting children's art pads at Walmart, but those have been in short supply and hard to come by since the pandemic started.  I guess parents are trying to keep their kids busy at home?  The pulp paper is easy to sew through, and tears easily when you want to remove the paper.  Much better than tracing paper or regular printer paper.

The ironic thing about this one being called "Waste Not" is that you have to waste quite a bit of fabric in an attempt to make sure the fabric covers the space you need to fill with the paper-piecing method.  I wind up using about 2x as much fabric to make sure the block is filled.   

Tutorials from Handmade Karma for Week 8.

See Handmade Karma's full set of Farmer's Wife blocks and tutorials.

Kintsugi: Repairing a Broken Pot with Gold

I broke this pottery bowl we got as a wedding gift more than 20 years ago.  We've used it nearly every day of those 20 years which may be part of why I am reluctant to give it up.  Plus I love the blue glaze on the inside.  

I remembered hearing about how they repair broken pots in Japan with a seam of gold.  They call it Kintsugi.  It not only highlights the broken parts, but also makes the repaired cracks stronger.   Kind of like people, too ...

 

I tried it with plain old PVA Gorilla Glue to which I added a bit of pirate gold watercolor paint (That's what I had on hand, I I couldn't find my mica powders.)  Mixed up a small batch, and applied it with a popsicle stick.  Then we used painter's tape to hold it until it dried (30 minutes) and cured (24 hours). 

 

So far so good!  The painter's tape removed the gold paint that slopped out of the cracks, but I think I want to leave the other gold lines so

1. that I remember to be gentle with it and 
2.  It looks cool to see the gold lines.

 

 

We'll see how long it lasts!

Farmer's Wife Blocks 83 Spider Web - 5 Bat Wing - 49 Honeycomb

 

Farmer's Wife - Block 83 - Spider Web

 

Looking at it now, I wish I would kept those dark blue wedges in the middle light blue, and left the dark blues to pin down the corners.   But not enough to do over.  There were paper piecing templates provided, but I did some of it strip piecing, then lined up the templates to match.  There's still a fair amount of wasted fabric with paper piecing -- thrown on the scrap pile, destined for crazy quilt blocks some day.  

 

2 blocks suitable for Halloween.

 

 

Farmer's Wife - Block 5 - Bat Wing

 

I'm thinking I probably should have made the white parts dark.  

If  you turn it 90 degrees, it looks more like a butterfly.

 

Farmer's Wife - Block 49, Honeycomb

 

Made from the scrap pile.  Paper-pieced.

Not my favorite week for blocks.  I thought about skipping Honeycomb and Bat Wing, but I'm looking at it from a discipline standpoint.  More practice paper piecing will help me later on with something I really DO want to make. 

Tutorials from Handmade Karma for Week 7.

See Handmade Karma's full set of Farmer's Wife blocks and tutorials.