Where Meadows Grow…

The stunning picture-perfect embroidered landscapes of Jo Butcher have been a re-occurring favourite in Inspirations magazine for many years. Today as we celebrate the release of Jo’s very first book, we’re taking a closer look at her work and the artistic methods used by this wonderfully talented artist.

Where Meadows & Gardens Grow is a gorgeous book dedicated to a huge  range of Jo’s designs, each of which will teach you a different technique or skill.

One of the first things that makes Jo’s work so unique is the fact that her designs are stitched on a painted background. In compiling a complete book devoted entirely to her work, it meant that Jo had full scope to explain exactly how to do this for your own pieces.

This is really important as the painted element in her projects is often one that embroiderers are frightened to try. We might be needle artists, but that doesn’t mean we can paint, right? We’re sure that many of you will share the same memories as we do of art class back in school. In your mind you can see a perfect painted picture, but as soon as the brush hits the paper… well, disaster!

However, when you put yourselves into Jo’s expert hands, she guides you through this process, doing what she can to remove the fear. Most importantly, she says that there really are no hard and fast rules.

‘Sometimes the painting will go to plan, sometimes it won’t, and every now and then you will produce a beautiful background but not know exactly how you did it!’

Jo’s advice is to simply play with the paints, experiment, get to know your colours and above all, have fun with it.

Don’t be hard on yourself and don’t feel that you need to match the exact colours, shaded areas or colour balance as Jo has. We spend our lives adhering to rules; finally, you are given complete licence to artistically play without any rules at all!

If you look at the cover project Bluebells Under the Birches shown above, the background is a soft blue for the sky, with a solid green patch to give depth to the grass and mottled green to enhance the stitched birch leaves.

When you turn to the project pages, you’ll see that Jo provides a clear photograph of the background for you to use as a guide for your own painting. This is so you know what elements might be needed for the best effect.

The same goes for Amongst the Daisies shown below, which has a similar background minus the green across the top.

Because the foreground will be heavily stitched, all that is required in the painting is a base so that there is no raw fabric showing between the stitches upon completion.

The good news is you can relax – the painting isn’t the primary focus of the project; your stitching is. The painting is merely there to support the embroidery, so perfection is not required.

Finally, Silver Birches has a similar painted background to the cover project. Again, inside the book you are shown a photograph of the background before any stitches have been placed upon it so you can have a go at creating your own.

Once you’ve created your own unique backing fabric, you can then use a template to place where the birch trees will appear and get stitching.

Of course, there may be some to whom the painted element is just one step too far, and that is completely fine. If you purchase a kit, you’ll receive a piece of fabric with Jo’s painted background already printed on it.

However, every kit also has a piece of blank fabric included as well as Jo wanted everyone to have the opportunity to give the painting a try.

Even if it is a disaster, or it doesn’t work, you’ve got your printed fabric so you can still stitch Jo’s design. But you just never know. What if you take a second look at your painting and realise you’ve actually created something beautiful and completely unique to you?

Sometimes you need to shut your eyes and take the plunge to discover talents and skills you never knew you had. This applies as much to stitching as it does to painting, cooking, gardening etc. Life is an adventure and Jo Butcher’s book is the perfect companion to help lead the way.

Make Your Own Jo Butcher Originals

Bluebells Under the Birches

Step 1 – Purchase Project Instructions

Bluebells Under the Birches by Jo Butcher is a stunning carpet of pure, blue flowers spread beneath a canopy of birch leaves.

Step 2 – Purchase Ready-To-Stitch Kit

The Inspirations Ready-To-Stitch kit for Bluebells Under the Birches includes everything* you need to re-create this stunning scene: Fabric panels (including pre-printed panel), embroidery threads, ribbons and needles.

Amongst the Daisies

Step 1 – Purchase Project Instructions

Amongst the Daisies by Jo Butcher is a beautiful field of fresh, white daisies, some crowned with a golden eye, spread beneath the sun.

Step 2 – Purchase Ready-To-Stitch Kit

The Inspirations Ready-To-Stitch kit for Amongst the Daisies includes everything* you need to re-create this beautiful scene: Fabric panels (including pre-printed panel), embroidery threads and needles.

Silver Birches

Step 1 – Purchase Project Instructions

Silver Birches by Jo Butcher features graceful trunks of ghostly white rising through a woodland garden of ferns and cow parsley.

Step 2 – Purchase Ready-To-Stitch Kit

The Inspirations Ready-To-Stitch kit for Silver Birches includes everything* you need to re-create this stunning scene: Fabric panels (including pre-printed panel), fabric stabiliser, embroidery threads and needles.

*Please Note: To cater for flexibility of purchase, instructions are not included with our kits. For step-by-step directions on how to create these projects, please refer to the book.