Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 5, 1993 TAG: 9302050254
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MELANIE S. HATTER and CURT RICHERT STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
SEMINARS LET CRAFTERS COME SEW, COME SAW
Blue Ridge Public Television on Saturday sponsors "Come Sew, Come Saw," workshops by the hosts of two of its popular programs, Nancy Zieman of "Sewing with Nancy" and Roy Underhill of "The Woodwright's Shop." The free programs are 9-4 p.m. at Whitman Auditorium of Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke. Zieman's seminar is fully booked, but spaces remain for Underhill's program. Call 344-0991 for more information.
When "Sewing With Nancy" first aired in 1982 on cable television, host Nancy Zieman wasn't sure she was doing the right thing.
But now, she no longer uses her home as a studio, and her show is a hit throughout the United States and most of Canada.
It airs on Sundays at 2:30 p.m. on WBRA (Channel 15).
Zieman comes to Roanoke on Saturday morning to talk about her latest book, "10-20-30 Minutes to Sew," and how to sew in units of time.
Don't think "Sewing With Nancy" is for women only. Men love her show. "It's not a large percentage of men who write to me," she says, but "one salesman said he traveled a tremendous amount and developed a drinking problem."
Instead of heading to the nearest bar after work he decided to start sewing, he told her. The man, a heavy-equipment salesman, made his own shirts on the road.
Most people are busy these days with jobs and family, so Zieman approaches sewing bit by bit.
She says sewing is much like building a house. You start with the foundation and add to it.
Take 20 minutes here and there to prepare, she says. For example, shopping is one event. After choosing the pattern, keep it with you; and during lunch or in the doctor's office read the guide sheet, she says.
Group the projects into time increments: Cut out the tissue papers at one sitting. Later, allow a longer slot of time to cut the material, and then allocate time for sewing. Instead of starting at the top and going all the way through the pattern, sew the collar then the cuffs and do each piece independently, she says.
The only requirement, Zieman says, is to have the sewing machine set up in a large enough area in which to work. Make a checklist and check off each task as it's done.
Zieman, 39, believes her show's success is due to her common-sense approach.
And like many of her viewers, she's a working mother of two sons, ages 10 and 2. She and her husband, Richard, operate her sewing catalog business, Nancy's Notions, in Wisconsin where they live.
"I'm an average person," she says. "People can relate to me."
Roy Underhill's "The Woodwright's Shop," in its 12th season on television, features woodworking projects using traditional hand tools and methods.
Saturday's seminar from 2-4 p.m. will include project demonstrations and a slide show of building reconstruction at Colonial Williamsburg.
When asked what he was planning to make for the program, he replied that he didn't know, but "that's half the fun! For everyone and myself, it will be a surprise!"
A self-named "woodwright" - a person who uses traditional methods to work on wood - Underhill says working on wood is a rewarding experience.
"You get to know the wood when you're using hand tools," he says. Asked if he used any power tools to help complete his projects, he chuckled and said, "I use power tools - human powered!"
When not working on his show, Underhill works at Colonial Williamsburg as master housewright, helping to reconstruct buildings with traditional tools and methods.
"Using hand tools in reconstruction allows people to see how and why buildings were built the way they were," he said. Methods and materials of construction used at the time were limited to what was available.
Underhill is also offering to identify old/antique tools for anyone who cares to bring them.