Things obviously worked out for the two of them. They married and have two teenage daughters, Mia and Ruby. They are also business partners with Sew Hungry Hippie, which sells Natalie’s patterns for quilts and garment projects, as well as tote bags, purses, basket liners, and even dog kerchiefs (yes, Natalie is a “proud Pug mama”). 

The pair at least shared a military background before they first encountered each other. Romel served over 20 years in the U.S. Air Force and Natalie spent four as an active-duty U.S. Army Nurse and then another four with the reserves, where she was when they met.

But Natalie felt more of a creative urge pulling while she also expanded her interests into areas like hot yoga and eating granola. Romel joked that she was turning into a “hungry hippie,” and the name stuck.

“I have this funny mix in my personality where I can be really serious and driven and focused, and the other side is totally opposite. I guess they just work together somehow!” Natalie says.

She began creating patterns in 2016 and selling them mostly through Etsy, though she says she was not “super confident” then about her work. Eventually, people found her, and it encouraged her to create a full-fledged business in 2019.

“It was scary!” Natalie says, especially when Romel quit his job in 2022 and the couple had to figure out what the bare minimum was they needed to make to support the family.

“I’m more of a conservative risk-taker and was at a level that even if this failed, we’d be OK and reconfigure. Then we took the leap,” she says. “And once Romel came on, I was free to do the creative work, and that’s when everything took off. It was the right decision.”

Today, Sew Hungry Hippie exists as both a thriving online business via their website, and also a brick-and-mortar shop in Stoughton, Wisconsin, where they’ve just moved into a larger building.

What makes Natalie’s patterns more interesting is that they are used for a combination of artistic and utilitarian purposes. And the latter usage was always part of the plan.

“I really wanted to do projects that would get people thinking ‘Oh, I need that.’ And something that wouldn’t take weeks to do. So, I just looked around the house, thought about what I needed, and maybe someone else did as well,” she says. “And then I created a tutorial around it that didn’t require a lot of fabric.”

Romel says he’s seen a lot of quilters “go to the other side” and start making bags.

Many of their patterns and tutorials also involve sewing on vinyl instead of fabric, which is another different aspect of the business. Natalie says that began when she was first dabbling in bag making and couldn’t afford leather (which she says also didn’t align with her “hippie values”). And faux leather didn’t work either. 

Vinyl had the different colors and glitters and textures that appealed to her design side. She adds that there is definitely a learning curve to working with vinyl. Especially in one’s machine set-up, needles, and gadgets to help pound down the seams. She’s proud that any of her patterns can be done using a standard domestic sewing machine.

A ballpark figure of number of patterns Natalie has created so far is 150, with many available free on her blog and website.

Last year’s Quilt Festival was the Santini’s first time exhibiting at the show. Romel admits he “loved the restaurants” and was impressed by the size of the event. For Natalie, the joy was in meeting “all kinds of people.”

“There was so much energy and being with people who think the same as you, it’s healing,” she says. “And I love going to Texas. We used to live in San Antonio, and everyone is so helpful there.”

And finally, we have to ask – whatever happened to their friends, the couple they were backing up on that original blind date in 2005?

“They worked out…for a few years!” Natalie laughs.

For more information, visit SewHungryHippie.com