Anna Hayward “Glass Bead Making and Stitch, a Story of two Paths”- November 15th 2025
Anna, who is based on the Island, is an embroiderer and glass bead maker. She gave us a very inspiring talk and also showed us fascinating videos of her bead making process.
Anna McDowell “Dorset Buttons” – October 18th 2025
Anna, an extremely creative textile artist gave us a fascinating talk on the heritage craft of Dorset Buttons.
Anita Bell: “Finding Inspiration” – May 17th 2025
Anita, is a textile artist from Portsmouth who works with paper and stitch. She talked to us about her intriguing process and how she creates her wonderfully unique and beautiful art.
Anne Hellyer: “How Did I Get Here” – March 15th 2025
Anne is an artist who creates hand-painted textile art by combining paint and textiles with free machine embroidery. She gave us a fascinating talk and brought along some of her stunning pieces to inspire us!
Victoria Dale: “You Can Be Creative” – January 2025
Victoria is a highly talented quilt artist and gave us an inspirational talk to start off our New Year.
Marc Tuckey “Haunted Isle of Wight”-December 2024
For the past 30 years, Marc has been guiding walkers around around the haunted parts of the Island and delighting them with his tales of murder and mystery.
Marc shared his fascinating stories at our Christmas party and his knowledge of the Island’s haunted history kept us absolutely captivated. It was a perfect fit for the season and made for a very memorable day!
Shelly Cox – Beaded Bell Workshop-November 2024
Shelly is the author of the Bead Embroidery RSN Essential Stitch Guide and teaches at the RSN, both in the UK and internationally.
Shelly led a brilliantly challenging workshop, teaching us how to create a dazzling beaded bell Christmas decoration. While her instructions were exceptionally clear and her patience infinite, it quickly became apparent that this project wasn’t for the faint-hearted, or for those of us expecting to finish in one sitting! Hopefully more pictures to follow as we master our bells for homework and in time for Christmas!
Georgie Carter – Contestant on The Great British Sewing Bee – October 2024
Georgie an Islander and former contestant on the 10th series of The Great British Sewing Bee on BBC1, kindly visited our group to share her inspiring experience on the show. With great warmth and enthusiasm, she recounted the challenges and triumphs of sewing under pressure and the creative process behind her fantastic designs.
Anna Winter – Danish Whitework – July 2024
At the July meeting Anna Winter gave a fascinating talk entitled “Danish Whitework & Me”. Below are some examples of her stunning work:
Mary-Ann Toop Concordia’s World – June 2024
Mary-Ann is a textile and mixed media artist based in Hampshire. During her visit, she generously shared how her personal journey led her to create the beautiful, quirky fantasy creatures who inhabit Concordia’s World.
Helen Sill – May 2024
Helen is an artist, researcher and tutor. She combines her love of drawing and travelling with textiles. She gave a fascinating talk entitled ‘Gujaret Journey’ and enthralled us with the stunning textiles she brought along from her travels.
Sarah Evans – April 2024
Sarah Evans is a talented artist who specialises in painting on silk. During her visit, Sarah shared insights into her craft, showcasing a stunning array of samples that captivated us all.
The highlight of the day was our collaborative project – a silk scarf painted by each member of our group under Sarah’s guidance. It was a delightful opportunity to explore our creativity together, resulting in a unique piece that one lucky member took home in our raffle.
Michele Carragher – March 2024
Michele, an Artist and Costume Embroiderer, came to our March meeting to talk about her amazing work in the film and television industry. She has worked on many productions including: Game of Thrones, The Crown, Peaky Blinders and the 2020 film production of The Secret Garden.
Some examples of Michele’s work:
Deborah Smythe – January 2024
In January we were treated to an engaging and fascinating talk by Deborah Smythe, all about her time working with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) at Stratford-Upon-Avon. Full of behind the curtain glimpses of what it meant to work as a milliner and jeweller for all the stage outfits, there were tales of famous actors, directors, even a special visit from the Queen. Sadly all the costumes Deborah created are kept and maintained by the RSC, so we could not see them in person, but there were plently of magazine and newspaper articles chronicling her time there. The crown was created for a school theatre production, from a very unusual base.
Kate Findlay – July 2023
Kate Findlay Workshop
Sunday 16th July 2023
Alison Hulme – May 2023
In May the guest speaker and Tutor was Alison Hulme, who gave a fascinating talk about ‘Her Life In Stitch’.
Below are some images of her work, which she brought to show the group.
Isle of Wight Embroiderers 