Nancy L. Zieman (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Luedtke; June 21, 1953 – November 14, 2017) was an American author and designer widely known as the host of the television show '' Sewing with Nancy''.

Background

Zieman was born on June 21, 1953, and raised on a dairy farm in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. She was the daughter of Ralph and Barbara Luedtke. Zieman graduated from the

University of Wisconsin–Stout The University of Wisconsin–Stout (UW–Stout or Stout) is a public university in Menomonie, Wisconsin, United States. The Institute of technology, polytechnic university of the University of Wisconsin System, it enrolls more than 6,900 stude ...

with double majors in

home economics Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences (often shortened to FCS or FACS), is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and f ...

and

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

. She married Richard Zieman in 1977. Some of her early jobs included working for a national sewing chain store in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and as a freelance sewing instructor in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. In 1979, she founded Nancy's Notions, a

direct mail Advertising mail, also known as direct mail (by its senders), junk mail (by its recipients), mailshot or admail (North America), letterbox drop or letterboxing (Australia), is the delivery of advertising material to recipients of postal mail. Th ...

company specializing in sewing notions, supplies and accessories. Nancy's Notions was purchased by the

Tacony Corporation Tacony Corporation is a family-owned and operated manufacturer and wholesale distributor of vacuum cleaners, sewing machines, ceiling fans, and commercial floor care equipment based in the St. Louis suburb of Fenton, Missouri. History In 194 ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, in 2003. She was an author and a designer for the McCall Pattern Company and Clover Needlecraft.

Bell's palsy

Zieman's face was partially paralyzed due to

Bell's palsy Bell's palsy is a type of facial paralysis that results in a temporary inability to control the facial muscles on the affected side of the face. In most cases, the weakness is temporary and significantly improves over weeks. Symptoms can vary f ...

. She acquired it due to an ear infection when she was a toddler. Zieman was always open about her condition; she wrote about it, was interviewed by journalists, and hosted a segment on her television show with medical professionals. She jokingly referred to herself as "the Bell's Palsy Poster Child." Zieman wrote that "sewing became my outlet, passion, and eventual career" because "winning a ribbon at the county fair, or a prize through the Make It Yourself with Wool contest, required skill not looks."

Sewing with Nancy

'' Sewing with Nancy'' is a half-hour show that Zieman co-produced on

Wisconsin Public Television PBS Wisconsin (formerly Wisconsin Public Television or WPT) is a network of non-commercial educational television stations operated primarily by the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It compri ...

. On the air since September 1982, ''Sewing with Nancy'' is the longest running

sewing Sewing is the craft of fastening pieces of textiles together using a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabric, archaeo ...

program on North American television, with over 900 episodes filmed. According to her autobiography, "In terms of years, only Letterman had a longer run." Initially, the programs were videotaped in Zieman’s living room, with a camera crew of one person. In the early years, Zieman ran a one-woman show, developing the scripts, making the samples, and taping the programs. Zieman was the host and executive producer since its inauguration, until her retirement due to ill health in September 2017. From the mid 1980s, Wisconsin Public Television in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

was Nancy’s partner in television production with Laurie Gorman serving as the director for the past 19 years.

Personal

Zieman lived in

Beaver Dam, Wisconsin Beaver Dam is a city in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States, along Beaver Dam Lake (Wisconsin), Beaver Dam Lake and the Beaver Dam River. The population was 16,708 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city primarily located in Dodge Co ...

with her husband.

Retirement and death

Zieman was diagnosed with

osteosarcoma An osteosarcoma (OS) or osteogenic sarcoma (OGS) is a cancerous tumor in a bone. Specifically, it is an aggressive malignant neoplasm that arises from primitive transformed cells of mesenchyme, mesenchymal origin (and thus a sarcoma) and that exhi ...

, a type of bone cancer, in March of 2015. In July 2015, she was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

. Zieman continued filming her Sewing With Nancy on a modified schedule, resuming a full schedule in 2016. On September 2, 2017, Zieman announced on her blog that after 910 shows of '' Sewing with Nancy'', she was retiring, explaining that one of her cancers had metastasized and that "additional treatments would not be helpful." Zieman died November 14, 2017, at her home. She was survived by her husband and two sons. Her death occurred just one day after the final episode of ''Sewing with Nancy'' aired.

Honors and awards

She was named the 1988 Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year by the Wisconsin Women Entrepreneurs Association. Zieman received the National

4-H 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times ...

Alumni Award in 1991 and in 2014 the

University of Wisconsin-Extension A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degree An academic degree is a qualification awarded to a student upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a co ...

4-H Youth Development Program inducted her in the Wisconsin 4-H Hall of Fame. Zieman won the 2013 the Distinguished Alumni by the

University of Wisconsin-Stout A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

Books and publications

Zieman published her autobiography, ''Seams Unlikely: The Inspiring True Life Story of Nancy Zieman'', in 2014. She wrote over 40 sewing books, including ''The Art of Landscape Quilting'', ''Serge with Confidence'', ''Machine Embroidery with Confidence'', ''Sew with Confidence'', ''Landscape Quilts'' with Natalie Sewell, ''Let’s Sew'', ''10-20-30 Minutes to Sew'', ''The Best of Sewing with Nancy'', ''Sew Clever Bags'', and ''501 Sewing Hints''.

Affiliations

* '' Sewing with Nancy'' *

* Nancy’s Notions * Baby Lock Sewing * Maderia Thread * Koala Studios * Clover Notions * Penny Rose Fabrics, a division of Riley Blake Designs * Wisconsin Quilt Expo
McCall's Pattern Company

References

External links

Nancy's Notions
company Web site
''Sewing with Nancy''
TV show Web site
''Seams Unlikely''
book site {{DEFAULTSORT:Zieman, Nancy 1953 births 2017 deaths Sewing People from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin Writers from Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Stout alumni Deaths from cancer in Wisconsin People from Neenah, Wisconsin American women in business American textile industry businesspeople