Butterfly Reverie by Taetia McEwen

There can be no doubt that having the ability to pick up a length of thread, loop it through a needle and then proceed to manoeuvre them both in a synchronised dance to turn a blank piece of fabric into a stitched piece of art, is an incredible superpower.

Not many can claim to possess such a skill. To most, it is akin to an unexplained sixth sense, a supernatural ability gifted to a chosen few.

As such we should never take for granted what it is we do. It can perhaps be compared to the gift of playing an instrument, the fruits of both endeavours provide tremendous joy and pleasure to those who see and hear them. Anyone unable to produce music or stitch is left in awe of the beauty that ensues…

If you were to tell Australian embroidery designer Taetia McEwen how gifted and talented she is as a stitcher, she would play down the accolades and simply say she loves what she does. Such is her humility and grace.

Yet Taetia’s project that we’re featuring today demonstrates that she possesses not just one, but two superpowers.

Butterfly Reverie from Inspirations magazine issue #131 is a stylised bouquet of ethereal flowers, worked in the softest raspberry, olive and seaspray tones, gathered together with a single soft pink feather and two delicate butterflies in flight.

As a starting point it would be fair to say we can all agree that this girl can stitch! Actually, more than just stitch, she can design, stitch and teach!

Not only is this design beautiful, it’s full of technique as well. Bullion knots and bullion loops for texture, Palestrina stitch worked in two offset rows along the stems, chain stitch and herringbone stitch for the feather’s shaft, needlelace filling for the lacy bell flowers, and padded satin stitch, long and short stitch and colonial knots layered together to shade the petals and leaves from palest blush through to deep olive.

Even the two butterflies are built from stitches within stitches, their wings defined in satin stitch and back stitch, their bodies formed from bullion knots and a single bullion loop for the head.

So that’s superpower number one.

Superpower number two is actually something far more potent and rare.

Butterfly Reverie is more than just a collection of clever material, technique and design choices. It achieves something few pieces manage.

It actually makes you feel something.

Consider for a moment how apt the name of this project is:

Reverie (noun): a state of being pleasantly lost in one’s thoughts; a daydream.

The word comes from the French rêverie, rooted in rêver, ‘to dream’ and it conveys a gentle, wandering quality, not idle distraction, but a kind of soft, absorbed musing, often triggered by beauty, memory or imagination.

We don’t know about you, but when we look at this piece it makes us feel as though we’re somehow looking at a dream sequence that a butterfly, or some heavenly creature, might have. There is a real, quiet, whimsical, ethereal, dreamlike quality that Taetia has captured here.

Perhaps that is the ultimate gift of this superpower we all share. Not just the ability to create stitched art out of nothing, thread by thread, stitch by stitch, but the ability to then hand that art to someone else and have them feel something because of it.

That is a rare kind of magic, and one that Taetia has achieved masterfully with Butterfly Reverie.

If you are interested in re-creating this rare kind of magic yourself, we have a limited supply of kits available, so click HERE to secure one today.

Inspirations has partnered with Fiber Talk to bring you fascinating interviews with designers sharing further insights into their projects featured in Inspirations magazine issue #131.

This week Gary, Cindy, and designer Taetia McEwen talk about her Butterfly Reverie design. In the video we learn about Taetia’s approach to design, what inspired Butterfly Reverie, and several of the features of the project.

This podcast is a helpful extension of the instructions that appear in the magazine.

To listen to the podcast, click HERE.