My Creative Juices ~

My life and my shop have been on the move for the past 13 years (2004-2017). It is all because of my wonderful supportive husband’s career – he’s under the bus now. But seriously, I am not going to lie, I loved every moment living in The Netherlands (2004-2012) and Switzerland (2012-2017). However, like living anywhere, I had good days and bad days and through it all I had my sewing machine, knitting needles, and my spinning wheel – these items were my sanity. My fiber arts are what kept me grounded. Some people see exercise, for example, as their happy place, for me it’s my sewing room and it’s this room/place where I just get centered and create.

Story behind Sarah’s Cotton Patch shop name change to The Martini Knitter Co. ~

A few people have asked me about how my name, The Martini Knitter came about; I cannot take credit for coming up with it at all. At the time, my oldest daughter who was at the time not quite 16 gave me the name at the start of 2011. I was opening up my Ravelry account and I needed a “user name.” My family was near by and I shouted out, “Quick I need a user name to finish opening my Ravelry account and it needs to be a catchy!” My daughter was sitting at the table doing her homework and without really thinking, just said, “The Martini Knitter. You like martinis and you like to knit.” And so The Martini Knitter was born.

Due to Etsy’s policy of not letting me change my Swiss bank account to my US bank account in my shop Sarah’s Cotton Patch, I had to be creative and open a new shop to still be successful. I am not complaining – it has really given me the opportunity to change some things around, reflect who I am, and to unify myself with my social media names and to just do something that is really me.

My hands are never still ~

I have been a fiber artist since I was in primary school. Like many fiber artist stories, mine is really no different. My mother and my grandmother were both fiber artists; needles – sharp (sewing needles) and dull (knitting) - were always in constant movement with the 2 of them. It was just natural that I would follow them, willingly, down the rabbit hole. Though I have passed them both up by receiving a spinning wheel that I love as much as my sewing machine and my knitting needles.

I became a quilter in the 1990’s when my mother said, “Let’s take a quilting class together.” I was hooked. I still enjoy quilting to this day. I learned to knit when a friend came to visit me while I was living in Europe and I instantly enjoyed that.

I love real fiber. I sew only with 100% quilter’s cotton and I enjoy knitting and spinning with 100% wool. I am lucky that I still remain in a cold winter’s climate so that I may enjoy my creations.