I picked up a crochet hook for the first time when I was 10, self taught but inspired by my mom — an incredible knitter who still puts my stitches to shame. It stuck with me on and off for years, but it wasn't until a career change gave me some breathing room, and later a stretch of bed rest after multiple rough surgeries in 2026, that I really came back to it. Somewhere in all that downtime, crochet turned from an old hobby into something I couldn't put down.

These days I don't work from patterns — I free-form every bag, which means just about anything can be customized. I love how fast I can go from a skein of yarn to a finished bag, usually with a game on in the background (Go Birds 🦅), a Bravo rewatch, or whatever I'm currently binging.

Poppie by Emma is what I make in my free time, outside my 9-5 at the Center City District. Two very different ways of building something good — one for the city, and one stitch at a time.