Martha is a weaver and loves learning and exploring new colors and patterns, so most of her hand woven items are one of a kind.

She’s been playing with fabric since her mom taught her how to sew as a kid. She watched her mother explore embroidery, crochet, rug hooking, decoupage, and just about anything else people were doing in the 1970’s.

She also sews, practices aikido, and rescues cats.

1. Why did you move to Elgin?

We moved to Elgin to be closer to my husband’s children and their mom. They eventually moved away, but we love it here, so we stayed.

2. What compels you to spend time creating?

Part of it is that I grew up watching my mom make things in her spare time and it was always part of life in our house. Also, I had analytical jobs my whole life and I love the balance I get from making a product.

3. Tell me three things you’ve learned in the past five years.

I really CAN learn some Spanish (slowly!) even if my pronunciation is terrible. I’m happiest if I learn a little bit and move a little bit every single day. That was a hard one because I think i can take time off, but I always regret it if I do. Curating works better for me than collecting stuff.

4. What are you currently making, reading, watching, or listening to?

Watching: Midnight Diner- Tokyo Stories on Netflix. Twenty-minute snippets of delight and totally worth the effort of subtitles. Reading: a couple books about aikido and de-escalating conflict. Listening: The Moth podcast. Fabulous true stories told without notes. It’s my all-time favorite podcast. Making: sourdough bread!