Our Travel easy Embroidery carriers.

My Embroidery Pocket Travel Kits

Our workshops have started and the studio felt so uplifting last Sunday. This week I had to create many Travel Embroidery Kits for our students this year.

They are created from thick basket weave cotton.

A simple design that allows one to always travel with their tools and materials easily.

I am happy to have made now early in the year. This year of the Dragon is feeling strong and powerful for me even.

Here they are piled on top of one another. Soon they will be filled with all their goodies to inspire much creative energy. See our Spring Schedule and reserve soon so that you may explore and create in and outside our atelier!

Coral Stitch just the start

This 2010 has been quite the year of creativity in our studio.

The courses throughout this year were wonderful with new faces and wonderful stories along the way.  Unfortunately I have not been able to spend much time on my computer as our business designed a new website.  Now that it is complete, I will have more time to share our moments in Atelier Gwendolyne this year.



For now here's one of my favourite stitches I like using when creating bold embroidery lines with wool 4 ply yarns. Here in the photo I stitched with Anchor's cotton Embroidery Floss on thick natural linen.

Life's Energies

This photo collage I put together of THE ELEMENTS course, celebrates our time together throughout this 2010 in Atelier Gwendolyne.

In creating this I discovered we were totally inspired from life's energies and their forms. Beings that could fly like birds, butterflies and even mythological dragons, those that could swim, like fish those that stood in one place, like trees and Mother Nature as a sprite, to remind us all to care for the preciousness of life.



Our time together was rich with texture and our unfolding days of the week brought many an discussion. Thanks everyone for enriching this studio in 2010!

Hand and the Heart

In Toronto, we are privy to have our creative world in this city’s Medina. Looking out of our southern facing windows, we can see the CN tower (for 30 years it was the tallest free standing building in the world). In the evening, the tower is light up like a flashing disco stick in many spectrums of the color wheel. A visitor to our city, could think there was a party going on if they did not know better. This landmark is a gentle reminder for me that our multicultural city is so special.

Our Atelier is located in the heart of Toronto's downtown. The first phase of it was built in 1880 by an industrious Scot. The history of the 401 Richmond building is very interesting. That it remains in the heart of our city is truly a blessing of good fortune. We are grateful for this treasure.




During the last weeks, I have been busy with more hat creations. I am pleased with the fabric I have chosen for this years’ fall collection. The weaves speak volumes for their color and composition.

Every hat I produce is the only one in the world. I truly believe in the power of the individual. Here is Rita who has owned her Gwendolyne Hat the Rusalka for over a decade. She inspires many people every day and I am glad to have created this hat especially for her.









On one of our Sunday Salons ~ Fiber Art workshops, I captured her putting the finishing stitches on her artwork inspired by the element EARTH. She embraced her life journey in her artwork. As an open and generous spirit, she is one of the most special people I know.



That sunlight that streams in while we stitch during the afternoon workshops, has been most comforting during these last cold winter months.
One day William and I were talking to another tenant in our building about our courses. The person remarked "a stitch and bitch”. I giggled, as I had never heard such a rhythm before.

Our gatherings are just the contrary. We share stories that have shaped our week and our lives. We find our common threads while focusing on our creations. A newly discovered expression emerges without us really realizing it. The hand, needle and thread are the motions in-between. The sharing of the space with our intentions is what makes our workshops most gratifying.

For years, my desire of presenting this course series kept recurring. Then last year with the collaboration of another woman who gave art classes to children, I created a needlecraft class. It was very insightful, and it clarified what I didn’t want my classes to be.






The hand is one of our bodies’ most amazing tools. I am not sure if many of us think about it this way. Our mind tells us what to do and we have mastered its’ ability so well, that we rarely give it much thought. In our workshops, I am watching how the hand is silently celebrated. Through patience, a meditative calm state is created.










This experience we call life is an opportunity to co create the world we desire. In our workshops, the heart is the center of our workshops. Together our dynamics and intentions create the space that open and express ourselves. We put our egos aside and create with mental hugs of love. We now understand more about the essence that lies under the quilting bees.

Last year at the Toronto Outdoor Art Show, I met a fiber artist Amanda McCavour. She constructs her art using needle machine embroidery. I was in awe when I first laid my eyes on her these images. Here is "Cat's Cradle". The work is very sculptural as the threads are held above the background surface by pins. The subject matter opens my playtime memories. Wonderful how a string with a knot can amuse oneself.

I will be sharing more about her art in my next post. Presently she is an artist in residence at the Harboufront Center's Textile Studio. On the 13th of this month the show Still will open at Torontos’ Harbourfront Centre Vatrines. Works made by Amanda will be on exhibit. I know I will be visiting as it is up until May 3.

When I began my AIR element Amandas' artwork inspired me to research and experience the technique of needle embroidery. I selected two linen canvases. I did a blue wash on one, the other kept plain. On the latter I worked the each color thread and followed that needle motion carefully. Sadly I felt disconnected from the others in our class. The machine was physically between us and I was not getting that emotional connection I normally experience when I work with hand stitches. My focus was on the needle; my hand disconnected to my fourth heart charkra. This experience made me appreciate even more what it takes to work in needle machine embroidery.

Like a game of “Go” easy to pick up, but to master takes great focus. The analytical and isolating nature of the technical process is not for me. I thrive on the emotional connection. Hand stitching does that and more for my senses.

My Fire element artwork was such a pleasure to create. Doing the outer running stitches was a total free flowing experience. Now my element Air is beginning to take off, you can only guess what my imagery might be.

Wishing you a most creative day where ever you are! Be sure to drop a comment if you are so inclined.

Art with the Needle

Life is a treasure to embrace every day. The longer we experience it the more opportunity we have to understand the essence of its presence. Our choices and circumstances along the way create our unique lives.
As a young woman I moved to the Arctic, and lived in a small Inuit village Kangiqsualujjuaq located in the far north above the 57th parallel. During those 2 years I experienced great personal growth. Several of the village women became my close friends. They inspired and taught me to work with the needle and thread. I hand sewed my family’s mitts, boots, hats and an eleven-person canvas tent with their guidance. Finding that quiet time in my head and gaining patience, allowed me to discover the worth of hand sewing. Decorating my creations with wool embroidery became my new form for artistic expression.

On one winter day I went out with my friend to make tea; a social Inuit tradition. The deep snow was up to our calves, as we walked outside the village towards the trees. Sometimes we capture moments in our minds that carry us throughout our life. This was one of those moments. My friend far ahead now, had created a trail of footprints so deep and defined. I stood there in awe and snapped the moment with my camera. Every step we make leaves an imprint and a direction for our future. Knowing this I have been aware of the path I create every day. My decisions and actions have brought me to a place of gratitude. Creativity has been an important part of my happiness. My studio atelier here in downtown Toronto is a sanctuary which breathes new inspiration every day.

The fiber art series that began last year opened many doors of friendship as well as creative process. "The Elements" is a narrative directed project series to inspire us.



Creative process originates from our thoughts. The intention is first, method follows and achievement is the final expression of the journey. I truly enjoy all three parts. Each brings forth challenges and offers us a deeper understanding of ourselves.

Through experience I have come to understand more about the positive state of mind that can be achieved while working with needlecraft. One is able to let go, experience the present and appreciate it. When we release our many constant thoughts and only focus on the stitch, we are able to be one with the moment and reach an inner peace. This is what the stitch can do for anyone who is looking to quiet their minds and create a lasting beauty with their hands. I believe our fast pace culture can truly benefit from this.

The Thread and Needle

My earliest memory of fiber art was a small yarn doll I made at the age of 6. She became my favourite play character. I remember the delight of seeing her complete; 2” tall made from a fine light blue yarn. I glued a set of paper eyes and smile to complete her identity. As a child I had the freedom of discovery. The conception of creating a masterpiece was not in my equation. Without fear one can create with a confidence.








My love of embroidery began in the 60s when I was age 10. Young people were pulling out their needle and thread. Both genders were stitching iconic symbols of love and peace. It was the age of Aquarius and flower power was in. I had just been given my first pair of jeans and on my front right hip pocket I created my first embroidery work. It was a blazing golden sun with curling rays. I can still remember feeling proud about completing this design.










For the past 18 years I have created one of kind cut and sewn hats. My life partner William S Brown and I have established Gwendolyne Hats here in Toronto Canada. As artists we have been lucky to live by our creative intentions. I have always been passionate about the warp and weave of the fabric. Symbolic of the passage of our lives and the events they carry along the way.












My hat designs The Rusalka and The Anoushka are distinguished by hand embroidery. Hand stitching fine wool yarns on the woven wool offers a great narrative expression. Embroidery allows minutia to be expressed. It also brought me to be passionate for 19th century buttons. On any winter day wearing my own Anoushka is always uplifting, as many will send me a smile when they admire it.









Paint and brush, thread and needle, both create art. The gender of the artist brought the artwork to notoriety not the medium. Any thing attached to woman’s work was not given the recognition like that of a man’s. Sadly great-embroidered works do not have the signature of the artist. They’re initials may sewn in, but not much more is recorded about them. Today the public and private Art collections are celebrating this medium to its rightful place.






I created fiber artworks for Toronto’s Museum of Textiles over four years. Each one was a time capsule of my life at the time. In the order of the years they’re titles are: Femme Petalle, My Fathers Garden, P’tah, and Good Vibrations. Donated for their Annual Shadowbox fundraiser it was a very cathartic experience for me.

I feel both alive and grounded when I create with my hands. Finding the time to create for ones self can be challenging in our busy lives.

Last year I brought a personal dream into reality. I established a fiber art course series titled “The Elements”. The intention in this blog is to share with you the stories and journeys of this magical Atelier experience. May the stories inspire your life.