Thank you Nancy!

I’m in the middle of reading Nancy Zieman’s new book Seams Unlikely, an autobiography of her life and journey from a farm to amazing business owner and TV host of Sewing with Nancy. I have to stop and just yell as loud as I can:

Thank you for sharing the entire story of your life, even the dark sides, the hard times, the journey that took you from who you were to where you are now.

Thank you even more for sharing your business journey and the fact that all businesses go through continual shifts, hit road bumps, and must learn to recover from the continual growing pains.

I love reading this book because it’s made me realize how the simple things – hard work, a dedicated drive to succeed, and a clear focus on goals – these qualities are enough to create great things. We all have challenges, whether public or private, but they do not what make us who we are – we decide that every day.

I can remember the very first time I watched a Sewing With Nancy show. I was around 12 or 13 and sitting in my Grandma’s house and Nancy was demonstrating how to make a foundation pieced pineapple quilt block.

The technique seemed fiddly and complicated with a lot of flipping the paper back and forth. However, I was totally mesmerized by the absolutely perfect points and matching seams that the paper piecing created.

I loved that lesson so much, 8 years later when I attempted to piece my first quilt – a square in a square – I choose to paper piece the blocks like I remembered from that lesson.

I know that I’m definitely not the only one. Nancy’s show and her calm, clear instructions have touched millions (if not billions). I just wanted to pause today to recognize a truly amazing woman and thank her for all she’s done.

If you’re intrigued by Nancy Zieman, definitely check out her autobiography, Seams Unlikely, and learn more about her. I found this read fun and fascinating, especially from the eyes of one business owner to another.

Let’s go quilt,

Leah Day