I am back from my whirlwind trip to Wisconsin to tape a two part segment with Nancy Zieman for Sewing with Nancy. It was a wonderful trip and a fabulous opportunity. What can I say about Nancy? She is a true professional. This was my first experience with television, and she made it so easy. She wrote the outline for our script and we planned each step extensively the day before taping so that everything would go smoothly. You couldn't ask for nicer people or an easier process!
I landed in Madison last Tuesday and then arrived later that afternoon in Beaver Dam where I did a brief talk about the book, Sew Serendipity (coming in June), to a group of people who are affiliated with Nancy's Notions and her production company. That pretty much wrapped up Day 1.
Day 2 was our planning day. I worked with Nancy and her staff to prepare for Thursday's taping. I had spent the previous week sewing samples in different stages of development so that the "magic" of sewing could occur instantly for our viewing audience. You can't imagine how detailed that can be when sewing. There were parts of each sample that I had to make several times to be able to step it out. We spent Day 2 finalizing the sequence of samples and steps and tied up a few loose ends. We had to make some tissue pattern pieces and sew a couple of small items, but that was about it. It was a busy productive day. Here is a photo of Nancy, Donna, and me as we began our day.
Day 3 was where the magic happened! We traveled to Madison to the University of Wisconsin. The PBS studios are located on campus. I was told a bit of interesting trivia about the building. It seems that it does not have a front entrance! This is because it was built in the late 60's/early 70's when the protests for the Vietnam War were going strong and there was a fear that the protesters would get into the building and take over the station. As a result, the building is a sum of mazes and if you don't know where you are going, you can get lost easily!
Below you can see photos of the studio where we taped. You can see the enormous spotlights on the ceiling, the great camera crew (operating with HD cameras, I might add...very cool) and the control room. It is simply amazing how many people it takes to do a show like this. Everyone was so professional...it made the experience so enjoyable and dare I say it....easy!
We did the first segment talking about three of the skirts from my book and about different techniques from each one. It was amazing how quickly you forget the cameras are there and just do what you need to. We did have a couple of takes on some segments, but overall, we got a lot of them in the first try....that made me feel really good! We did the second segment on three of the jackets from the book. Again, we demonstrated the different detailing and techniques for those. At the end of the segment, there is a showcase of photos from the book showing the projects all beautifully modeled. We also had time for a bonus segment where Nancy does a brief interview with me regarding the layout and details of the book...a good promo for the DVD of our segment and the book.
Here's a photo of Nancy preparing to tape one of the technique cutaways for the segment.
Just a reminder....the book will be available at the end of June and the DVD in the fall. Our segments are scheduled for late September and early October on your local PBS station. Air dates will vary based on your local channel's schedule.....I am sure I will blog the time when our local station will air it here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
Now, back to work and getting ready for spring market....never a dull moment here!
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