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About us

Crochet Guild Australia  is the brainchild of passionate crocheters from all over Australia.

Launched in November 2019, Crochet Guild Australia is a very young organisation that is still rapidly evolving. Despite the set backs of the COVID 19 global pandemic that unfolded two months after the launch of the Guild - we are committed to providing a centralised crochet community resource for education, inspiration and teaching tools for those of us who love crochet whether hobbyist or professional.

More and more passionate crocheters are joining the effort and are willing to put their time and work into growing our Guild.  The current committee acknowledges and respects the enormous effort and passion of the founding Management Committee and subsequent committees.  We thank you for having the courage, knowledge and passion to unite and launch Crochet Guild Australia. 

Executive Committee


Lynley Buckley - President  QLD

Born in New Zealand, Lynley trained as a Registered Nurse as well as becoming a Director and Manager of a family photographic business with her husband David. As the developer of the digital restoration programme within the company Lynley gained skills in advertising, restoration of images, management and people skills, while at the same time raising her family. 

Fast forward to 2000, the family migrated to Perth WA, where Lynley transitioned her role from RN in Neurosurgery/Orthopaedic trauma to running the Orthopaedic Clinic, using many skills in management and operations for improvements and customer satisfaction. Further study with Post Graduate Certificate, progressed to CNS of small team liaising with all levels of the team for older persons with fractures in the acute, rehab and nursing home setting.  During this time Lynley also coordinated two Teachers training events (year long trainings) for William Whitecloud, Master Your Destiny. Life Coach Training. Crafting was also very present, completing training in glass slump work, silversmith jewellry design and bead making.

Fast forward again, Lynley moved to the Sunshine Coast, QLD, took on the role of Clinical Manager in an Aged Care Home and completed Masters Nurse Practitioner degree and now owns and operates MACSNP, private practice in consulting Aged Care Homes. In 2021 Lynley completed her Teachers Training Certificate with the Guild, started her own yarn market business on Etsy and started designing her own patterns.

While loving crochet as a medium for relaxation, Lynley is passionate about building the crochet culture in Australia as well as reaching across the Tasman to New Zealanders from her home.  While bringing the Guild newsletter into a more current style she has enjoyed connecting with passionate designers, local crafters and all things crochet across the nation and the world.  Lynley is passionate about building teams, connecting people and creating a vision for the Crochet Guild Australia.


Vicky Ledwy - Secretary  QLD 

Vicky has been involved in crochet since a toddler.  Today, we are so lucky to have her as our Secretary of the Guild.  A country woman, Vicky has taught crochet for well over 40 years including through the local TAFE and through her own studio as well as craft groups and shops.  Vicky has a very active presence contributing to the social media pages of Crochet Guild Australia uploading teaching videos and contributing much to the ongoing conversations online between members and prospective members.

Vicky has designed and run Crochet Alongs (CALS) online and has been involved in many committees over the years including the local LIONS Committee and has been the organiser of annual local Debutante Balls - a declining tradition in rural Australia.

Vicky was President of the Clermont Patchwork and Quilters Association for many years and was also President of the Central Highlands Smocking Association.

Vicky has judged crochet, knitting, quilting, patchwork, embroidery and handicrafts in general for local, district and regional shows, church groups, CWA and Cotton On Creations for the Royal Agricultural Shows.


Tracey O'Neill  - Treasurer  QLD

I am delighted to be  voted in as Treasurer of Crochet Guild Australia.  It combines two of the things I love most - Finance and Crochet.

In my day to day life, I am a BAS agent and book keeper - and have over 60 clients.  My real passion is doing what I call "rescue" jobs - where I go to people's businesses and teach them how to manage their own books and businesses and see what the problems are.  "There are so many people out there who know how to run their business but don't know what their numbers are."

I only got back into crocheting a few years ago because my girlfriend got me into it.  I love the crochet classes I attend   - and Crochet is my happy place to go to after work.  I really enjoy my Wednesday nights after work - where I go to my crochet lessons and have a great time.

I love snorkelling and white water rafting too!  I am excited be Treasurer of the Guild.  I love to get involved and it is something I have wanted to do for such a long time.



Samantha MacNally - National Crochet Conference manager for 2023  NSW

Sam has an extensive background  in communications. She previously led Corporate Communications teams at Microsoft, NineMSN, IBM and Austrade to name but a few of the big brands.

She also worked for over a decade as a television journalist and news and current affairs producer at Channel 9 for nine years, and Channel 7 for two years. She later worked and as a media adviser for two Federal Government Cabinet Ministers in Canberra.   She has been on a range of Committees and has Chaired fundraising groups for various charities, school  and sporting club organisations.

She had 3 kids in her 40’s and  although later returned to the workforce  to consult and do contract work, she stepped back from the paid  work force to home school her children now aged 11,13 and 15 during the COVID 19 Lockdowns in NSW in 2021 and 2022.     "Crochet kept me sane during home schooling". Post Covid - Crochet is now her full time occupation.   2022. 

Carolynne  Cannon - Community Groups WA - Carolynne learned to crochet from her neighbour Michelle when she was 10 years old.

"I still have the first 2 books on “how to crochet” and my first granny square blanket in hideous colours, a reflection of growing up in the 70s!

I tried knitting too but crochet has always been my thing…..that was, until my interest changed to boys in my teens!."

"Fast track to 2017 and  my passion for crochet was reignited while in China on a coach trip with my colleague who was crocheting.

Jo had a spare hook & yarn. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to pick up from where I left off many years ago, just like riding a bike! I’ve been hooked ever since & don’t know where I’d actually be now if I hadn’t picked up this craft again. Crochet has been my saviour & therapy during these last couple of Covid years, especially since my travel business has been so severely impacted."

Carolynne's professional life encompasses 35+ years in the travel industry with the last 13 years operating her own business. She is  lucky to have visited 6 continents and hopes to make it to Antarctica one day. Her last 2 trips prior to Covid were Crochet cruises!

"We had so much fun, laughter & learning that I organising another which I was about to launch when Covid hit in Mar 2020. Both the designer, yarn supplier and myself were devastated! So it’s sitting on the back burner for when the time is right to cruise again."

"I also run a social crochet group, Crochet Escapes, every alternate Sat in my local area. My aim is to grow the crochet community in WA & foster new friendships. We have a core group of lovely talented ladies who inspire new projects & share ideas. Everyone is welcome! 

"I strongly believe that crochet provides a therapeutic & creative outlet while also being productive too. I look forward to working with the committee to benefit our members. Hooray for crochet!"


Petra Creutziger QLD

Black Sheep Crochet is more to me than just crochet.

I believe that everybody has a story and Black Sheep Crochet is the place where I honour the story of others and myself. My mother and Oma (Grandmother) were very crafty and spent a lot of their time crocheting, making macrames and sewing for us kids. As a teenager I collected sewing, knitting and crochet patterns of which I turned some into garments for my 3 boys in my tween years. Life got a little busy while I studied architecture and after my fourth son was born and I took a break from doing any handwork.

It wasn’t until we had immigrated to Australia and a friend asked me if I could show her how to crochet that I had a hook in my hand again. Sophie’s Universe, Nya blanket, Stardust Melodies. I can’t even begin to describe how exciting it was to see how crochet had evolved from being plain and rather unattractive to being modern, hip, even fashionable and oh so versatile. Not a day passed since then without hook in hand, exploring hundreds of patterns and ideas.

A friend in the home educating community noticed my crochet work and motivated me to offer crochet workshops, which was great fun. She also encouraged me to showcase and sell my dress-up designs for the little Peg Dolls at the Steiner school fairs and in their shop, where a mum saw them and asked me to collaborate with her. I have been designing and making little Peg Doll hats, cloaks, shawls, scarves, clothes and accessories since then.

The idea for the Wrapped In Jamie CAL was a natural progression of looking for the next level in crochet while listening to my favourite novels: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I was wondering what it would look like if the story was translated into a pattern and the idea for the first square pattern I ever designed was born. I created one square after the other, with random motifs at first, but then worked methodically with the timeline of the story. Wrapped in Jamie is a long-term project with two more Seasons to come. I can honestly say that offering a CAL has completely changed my understanding of what it means to be a designer and how much work goes into offering a pattern. I am forever grateful for this experience.


Kathleen Hansen QLD
I would like to thank you for the opportunity to join the committee, to help to promote crochet in Queensland and Australia, and to learn from those who have much more knowledge and experience than I have. I will give you the best I can. 

I cannot remember a time I was not making something with my hands. I grew up with, and was surrounded by crafty men and women who could fix or make just about anything. All the women in my family produced beautiful intricate and fine crochet lace creations, sewed gorgeous garments for the whole family, knit dozens if not hundreds of jumpers and hats, made leather handbags and purses, painted, made jewellery, and baked decadent breads, sweet treats, jams and more.

I was expected to learn, and I did. I started knitting my first scarf at 5 yrs, sewed my first dress at 8yrs, crocheted my first lace doily at 12yrs (I still have it), and took over the family cooking when I was 15. I learned to spin 12 yrs ago to supplement my growing yarn obsession and am just now learning about painting and art.

In the intervening years I have knit, crochet and sewn many of the clothes my children needed, until they had a say anyway. I’ve taught various crafts to the Brownies when my daughter was little, some basic sewing skills to high school students ( teenage boys and sewing machines are not a good mix), and handcrafts to my former local QCWA branch members.


  Naomi McManus NSW - Membership Officer  

I have been a registered nurse for more than 20 years. I specialised in Intensive Care with a post-grad Masters in education until a recent sea change to Hospital in The Home. I was always a crafty kid. My Great Aunt taught me how to knit, but that did not click with me. The need to do craft- any craft remained and long stitch tapestries, sewing clothes, bags and a little basic patchwork along with scrapbooking were my mainstays. 

I tried learning to crochet from a book with no luck. It was not until my daughter turned one, I attended the last four crochet lessons offered by the local Spotlight store. Crochet “clicked” and I was off. I would meet my crochet teacher weekly for some time to help finesse my skills and fine tune the understanding of the language and art of crochet. 

In 2010 and again in 2012 I entered a cot blanket into the Sydney Royal Easter Show. The 2010 entry won 3rd place and the 2012 entry won 2nd place. My proudest moment in craft was when I successfully passed the CGA Teacher Certificate from the inaugural conference in 2021. 

My crochet time is frequently interrupted by going to work, supporting my two teenagers in their endeavours and gardening on our property. “I enjoy the overall feeling of calm when I have a hook and yarn in my hands and I’m making something useful.” 


Carolyn Boots SA

I can’t explain how I feel when I crochet or knit or sew. All I know is that I need to crochet, knit or sew. I have been dragging a project bag filled with projects, hooks and or needles around since I was 5 years old. Around 10 years old, I was serious enough that Mum went out and purchased all that I needed to start me on making granny squares with real wool. I still have my first hooks, needles and that all important Patons Knitting and Crochet book that I taught myself to crochet from.

 It was in the early 90's that I along with my family purchased a business in Blackwood South Australia that I named Fabrics Plus. Over the space of 22 years of ownership we built a reputation for quality yarns, quilting fabrics, patterns and haberdashery. My partner Rod encouraged me in 2017 to start my own online yarn shop and 2KnitnCrochet.com.au was born. 2Sip,KnitnCrochet meetup was formed as I couldn't find a local social crochet and knitting group to join. Quite a few newbie crocheters came to my little group for social benefits and to learn to crochet or have problems solved with their crochet. I now hold zoom meetups with crafters mainly from the Gold Coast. In the near future 2Sip,KnitnCrochet will recommence here in Victor Harbor and new guests are most welcomed. My shop is currently in an extended holiday mode since we relocated back to South Australia to be nearer to our families and settled down in Victor Harbor at the end of 2020. 

You can find me on Instagram and I have my own channel on YouTube.

As soon as I heard about the beginnings of a group of crocheters forming our very own crochet guild, I had to join and became a founding member. Currently I am undertaking the Teaching Training Course. I can bring to the committee my experiences from working in a cafĂ©, banking industry as a head teller, public health system as a finance assessment officer, running my own retail business for 22 years, management rights in a holiday resort on the Gold Coast, hosting international students and their school executives, training puppies for Assistance Dogs of Australia and a small online retail business, 2Knitncrochet along with 2Sip,KnitnCrochet as a regular zoom meetup. Most importantly my passion for Crochet, my first craft passion. Follow your passion!!!

Natalie Vella - Education Committee  NSW 

I am delighted to have been elected onto the Management Committee of Crochet Guild Australia.  I intend to apply my organisational and teaching skills from my 25 years as a classroom teacher to the Crochet Guild particularly, if desired by the Committee, in the area of Education.

 I learned the basics of crochet as a child, and I have always loved the versatility of this craft  so I have made many hundreds of diverse crochet items over the years by teaching myself   new techniques by taking up the challenge of a new pattern, and being persistent in my efforts because I enjoy the challenge of learning. Finding the wonderful community of crocheters in recent years now inspires me to offer to employ my time and efforts to assist the Guild to extend and share the joy of this tremendous skill.

As an educator of young people, and particularly through the lens of our recent experiences during the pandemic, I value the enormous benefit that time spent on crochet provides to an individual’s mental health and wellbeing. Over the last few years, I have spent time teaching and enjoying crochet with some of my high school students (even via zoom at the end of school lessons during lockdown) as a deliberate means to calm the mind, relieve stress, and inspire creativity and joy, as well as provide simple human connection.

I have many years experience in creating lesson plans and programs with a clear sequence of tasks using appropriate resources, adjusting to the learning needs of individuals, communicating effectively, and using technology for educational purposes. I have management and team skills that I have developed in my role as a ‘middle leader’ in a high school setting in which I oversee the humanities Key Learning Area in a school of 1000 students, with a dozen staff members under my purview. I aim to assist my team members and our students to flourish by fulfilling my own role with diligence and by taking my responsibilities to the team very seriously. I manage resources, support my staff and students, lead the way in adapting to new technology and approaches to learning, pay attention to detail, and aim to be flexible.

I hope that the skills that I have developed in my professional role may be of service to the Guild.

2022 Committee

Lynley Buckley - President

Vicky Ledwy - Secretary

Tracey O'Neill - Treasurer

Naomi McManus - Membership Officer

Carolyn Boots

Carolynne Cannon

Pertra Creutziger

Kathleen Hansen

Samantha MacNally

Natalie Vella

2021 Committee

Jenny King - President

Lynley Buckley - Vice President

Michele Bake - Secretary

Lynda Tomkins - Treasurer

Lyndall Reeve - Membership Officer

Carolynne Cannon

Rachael Parker

Petra Creutziger

Kathleen Hansen

Samantha MacNally

Alison Phillips

2020 Committee

Jenny King - President

Rhonda Bennett - Secretary

Lynda Tomkins - Treasurer

Lyndall Reeve - Membership Officer

Mel Richards

Sandi Owen

Jasmin Jones

Alison Phillips

Narelle Reed

Rachel Devitt

Carolyn Healy




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