Colleen R.M. MacKinnon

Colleen has been making and creating since she was very little. Her Irish mother taught her to knit and her French-Canadian grandmother taught her to crochet. Along the way were sewing and quilting lessons. Then many years selling her handmade dolls and Santas in craft shows and small shops, and eventually running her own small craft show for several years. All this while raising two beautiful daughters and managing an irrigation service company with her husband for 40 years. During that time came the Internet, opening up new friendships in craft. Colleen found herself buried in stacks of wool and blogging about her exploits. Throughout those years of making, experimenting, and teaching about penny rugs, Colleen has published many patterns both for herself and for her Nova Scotian friend, penny rug master Cee Rafuse of Early Style Penny Rugs. Never one to be idle, Colleen continues to teach online through her blog, Penny Rugs and More, her Penny Rugs and More Facebook page, and a private Facebook group. Find Colleen selling her patterns and supplies in her Etsy shop ‘Penny Rugs and More.’ Colleen lives in historic Fort Langley, British Columbia, Canada.