Sally McCollin Author

Carina Envoldsen-Harris is a Danish designer, blogger and author living in the UK. She has a background in multimedia design as well as in art history and Italian language. Under the name Polka & Bloom, Carina has been designing and selling embroidery patterns since 2009. The patterns combine her life-long passion for art, design, history and nature, often including floral motifs and bright colours, and which she sells successfully via her online store, along with hand-embellished items of clothing and accessories.

Carina is the author of Romantic Motifs (2016), Mandalas to Embroider (2017) and Thread Doodling (2020), all published by Search Press. Carina lives in Essex, UK. For more information about Carina visit her website www.carinascraftblog.com.

Sally McCollin started her career in the textile industry back in the 1980s, firstly for Knitmaster UK then for Patons and Baldwins, which later became Coats Crafts UK. During this time, she gained her PGCE and progressed to teaching and lecturing in Further and Higher Education establishments, based in the North East. Using her specialist knowledge and foreign language skills, Sally also provides translations and artwork for European crafts-based suppliers. 

Sally delivers talks and workshops within the textile industry and also co-hosts a series of long-running, residential stitching breaks for Brightwater Holidays, both in the UK and abroad, covering all manner of textile-based disciplines.

Sally lives in Teesdale, County Durham, UK.

Lesley Taylor has always enjoyed embroidery and has been stitching for many years. She has completed her City & Guilds Creative Embroidery Certificate Course and Creative Embroidery Diploma. She is an accomplished practitioner of surface embroidery, covering all the major decorative techniques. Lesley lives in Buckinghamshire, UK.

Michaela Learner has worked as a freelance embroiderer, needlecrafter and designer for many years. A practitioner of surface stitching, she uses a range of decorative techniques including freestyle stitchery, blackwork, hardanger, cross stitch and pulled thread work. She writes articles for magazines, and is one of the designers for the leading embroidery-thread manufacturer DMC. Michaela lives in Cardiff, UK.