EMMA FRIED LANDER COLLINS

Emma Friedlander-Collins has decided to make her crochet career more of a social occupation, connecting with people on a global scale…

Today I want to celebrate everyone who makes up this incredible community. I’ve been a cro-pro for three years now, and my biggest concern when I decided to leave the comfortable, corporate world of government planning was “who am I going to hang out with all day?” (well that and “will we be able to eat?”). Initially I was very happy sitting with all the yarn, under a blanket, watching box sets. Who wouldn’t be? But I knew I’d need to find a daily network of people to connect with, otherwise I’d end up shopping in my pyjamas and talking to myself.

SOCIAL NETWORK

I’m quite an anxious sort, but I’m blessed with a misplaced, fearless ability to message literally anyone. It’s a very specific superpower, but one I’d definitely recommend practising. No one was safe: people I followed on Instagram, magazine editors, yarn companies, anyone I thought might like to meet up, or would like to make something together, I emailed. Most of them were only a sentence or two long, starting “I hope you don’t find this weird, but…”, and saying who I was, what I do, and “if you’d like to get together for a chat that would be ace!” Professional to the core, right? But most people responded, and now I’ve made some genuine friends.

SPINNING A YARN

On one occasion, fellow crochet designer Kath Webber and I ended up in a hotel in Birmingham with nothing but a double bed. I have had the pleasure of working with some genuinely delightful people, and getting to meet and do stuff that I’d never imagined – the double bed adventure for example. What’s even more incredible are the relationships I’ve made and the people I’ve met because of yarn and Instagram.

INSTANT UPS AND DOWNS

Instagram became a lifeline when I first started working for myself, as it gave me daily contact with like-minded people. I never set out to build a big account or get heaps of followers, I was just sharing pics of things I was making and yarn I loved, and chatting with people who loved it too. Three years on I’ve learned a lot of lessons about the perils and pitfalls of baring

“I have had the pleasure of working with some genuinely delightful people.”

“I’m blessed with a fearless ability to message literally anyone.”

“A little hook and ball of yarn connect us all.”

your soul on social media, trusting people just because they have a similar passion to you. But the most enduring thing I’ve learned, is that the world is full of wonderful people.

WOOLLY CHAT

Last week, on a beautifully sunny, slightly chill morning, I met with Emily of makeE at the glorious Bateman’s manor house in East Sussex. It’s almost exactly halfway between where we both live, and having missed out on meeting up at a HobbyCraft do, we decided to just make a date and meet there. It’s always a bit tense when your only common ground is crochet, but I can chat for England, and once you have a cup of tea and dig your yarn out, then what could go wrong? It was just lovely, and I hope we get to meet up again because I have a feeling we could sit with our yarn and chat indefinitely.

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Instagram has put me in touch with a world of people. I’ve met Pony McTate from New Zealand, corresponded with Fiona @ thedizzylimits and Skyped with Mandy @crochetbyredagape, both in Australia, and run workshops with Christine @ sewyeah, @sincerelylouise and Kath Webber nearer home. What is wonderful is that it’s a little hook and a ball of yarn that connects us all. In issue 69 we wrongly attributed Emma Friedlander-Collins’ column to Kate Bruning. We apologise to Emma, Kate and our readers for any confusion caused. Keep up with Emma via her blog at https://blog.lovecrochet. com/author/emmafcollins and on Instagram @steelandstitch