I held a weekend class in my studio in Deptford, London over the 11th/12th November. Four ladies who had never made a doll before came for this weekend. We made 'Tallulah', a doll which I designed especially to introduce the various cloth doll techniques to new doll makers.

All the ladies did wonderfully and everyone went home with their finished doll, except may be a little hand sewing.

All my classes will be with groups of four as space does not allow for more. This is a really nice size of group and allows a lot of individual attention for everyone. Below are some pictures of the class members and their work.

Mariangela made a great success with her first doll.

We had a super weekend, if very busy. I hope to meet up with all these ladies again.

Chris and Jean both work at the Welling Sewing Centre and were thrilled with their results. They have both gone away to begin another doll on their own.

Ann Gissing with her 'Tallulah' Doll, with a little handsewing to finish.

Tallulah was especially designed as a first doll to introduce the main techniques of cloth doll making.

This is an embroidered picture of my favourite holiday palce - which is Lakka in Paxos. It was also made as one of the final pieces for my City and Guilds in machine embroidery, taken this summer. It was designed in the format of the Bayeux Tapestry as a project entered into with other members of my group.

Got Knitted was made especially for the 'Cloth Doll Art' exhibition at Alexandra Palace. She also got to sit in Blackheath Library!

Man of Leaves by Gillian Bowden

Embroiderers Guild - Blackheath Group - Bi-ennial Exhibition
was held at Blackheath Library, South London from Oct 25th - November 4th. I am pleased to be a member of this small but lively group. Many of us helped to set-up and steward over the two weeks. We have very varied work on display - from small to very large - hand stitched and machine sewn. Beading, felting, jewelry, accessories, boxes and vessels are all shown here. Some pieces of group work as well as examples of our monthly workshops we hold at our meetings.

We meet on the last Saturday of every month in Balckheath Library at 1.30pm. Anyone nearby is welcome to join us. These are just a few of the works on show.