Anyone planning to attend the Wisconsin Quilt Expo in Madison this week? If you’re there on Saturday and see seven woman all wearing shirts like this, say hello, won’t you? Each painted mandala is different, though I used the same color palette throughout.

I’ve been to every Expo since it began 13 years ago, and it’s a wonderful experience. It’s big enough to draw a wonderful selection of quilts, classes and vendors, but small enough that you can see it all in a day if you want. This year I’m attending all three days, including a few lectures.

It’s bittersweet this year. The WI Quilt Expo is presented by Nancy Zieman Productions and Wisconsin Public Television. Nancy Zieman, of Nancy’s Notions and Sewing with Nancy fame, is a familiar face at the Expo, and yesterday she announced her retirement in this letter to her viewers and customers. In it, she tells of her diagnosis of osteosarcoma (bone cancer) and breast cancer, one of which has metastasized. She was told additional treatment would not be helpful. Just the day before, I was talking with a volunteer at work who taught Home Economics in the seventies and eighties when Nancy’s Notions was just getting started. The teacher asked Nancy to come speak to the Home Ec staff, and she agreed, making two trips to Janesville. Nancy Zieman has contributed so much to the sewing and quilting world, and we’re lucky to have had the opportunity to learn from her.