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The Zoom meetings were launched by Nimble Thimble owner Maria Flinn amid the coronavirus lockdown, but she decided to keep them going for the sake of a friend with MS and another undergoing chemotherapy.

"If anybody can't come to class they hold up their work in front of the camera so that the other girls can see what they're doing," Ms Flinn said.

"That way we keep in contact, keep them in the friendship circle."

The group resumed their face-to-face meetings last week, and those who can't make it in person can appear via a laptop screen perched upon the sewing table.

Most of the ladies were unfamiliar with the newfangled streaming technology, but after some patient guidance they soon mastered the art of using Zoom.

Stitching enthusiast Wendy Dolden said she was glad to be back in-person and reuniting with her old friends, some of whom had been turning up to the meetings with her for 20 years.

"That's how much pleasure we get from it. We learnt many skills over that time; we share information, ideas, techniques," Mrs Dolden said.

"We don't talk strictly about stitching, we just chat and see how they're going. We have developed very close friendships over the years."

Julie Proctor has also been attending the sewing meetings for 20 years and she said she was relieved to see face-to-face meetings resume, especially since she had never quite figured out how to get Zoom working on her computer.

"It's good to be back," she said.