custom canvas Archive

Originally posted 2010-07-14 07:55:40. Republished by Blog Post Promoter I’m excited to have my friend Sandy Grossman-Morris doing posts today and tomorrow. They are the start of a series we will be doing together about custom needlepoint. Hi to everyone who’s Nuts About Needlepoint!! For those of you who don’t know me yet, please let me introduce myself. I’m Sandy Grossman-Morris, a designer from (Hotter than Heck) Brentwood in Northern California. I know this because our air conditioner decided to retire last night. Luckily, I’m married to Bob the Builder, who is well aware that I am only comfortable in a room that is cold enough to hang meat in safely. But, I digress….I’m really here to spread a little Bloggy Inspiration…Creating Custom Needlepoint Canvases. First of all, I’d like to thank Janet for inviting me to spend this time with all of you. So, pour yourself a cup of

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All this month, in many of the posts, we’ll be celebrating Bargello. Today, an announcement about a unique service, Bespoke Bargello. Finding Bargello patterns is often hard. Since I love Bargello, and have for more than 40 years, I am excited to offer a new service. I’m offering a Bespoke Bargello service. If you’re not familiar with the word, “bespoke” in Britain is what we’d call “custom” in the US. You let me know, using the form below, some information about your experience, the item you’d like to make, the colors, and the type of Bargello you want. You don’t have to fill in every field if you don’t know the answers. In about two weeks, depending on my work load, you’ll get complete instructions, including a thread list and a chart for your pattern. My patterns are drawn from a wide variety of sources including traditional Bargello patterns, modern

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Sayings and needlepoint just seem to go together. From a canvas with a complete sayings to one word affirmations and needlepoint names, they remain popular items for hand painted canvas needlepoint. But what if the thing you want isn’t available? Then you need to look no further than the three delightful series of letters from Marie Barber at Colors of Praise. Marie has come up with the best idea. She has three series of letters, the 100 and 200 series are upper case only and the 300 series has both upper and lower case, each with a different background. YOu can see them all on her letters page. Each letter is different and bold enough to stand out from the colorful patterned backgrounds. Now the fun begins. You can specify the word or phrase you want and even specify the backgrounds and even the colors. Marie says “[A] customer might

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Originally posted 2010-07-16 07:58:10. Republished by Blog Post Promoter I get asked about creating custom needlepoint canvases more often than about anything else. A custom needlepoint canvas is such a rewarding project to do. If it’s a gift, it’s something special and unique for the recipient. For yourself, it puts on canvas, what you want to see. Sandy and I have been talking about the process she uses to turn images into needlepoint. I thought you’d be interested in learning about what goes into the process and how to pick great images to become the basis for great needlepoint. Earlier this week in her two articles you’ve learned about some types of images that work for needlepoint. Today I’m going to show you the two pieces I’m sending to Sandy to be our test of the process. The image above is one I found in a magazine and is a

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Using your image, a copier, and your knowledge of the finished size, make your chosen image the right size for your finished item. When doing this remember to leave a margin on all sides, the design will look better, and be sure to leave enough room for the other elements in your finished piece. Once you have a possible good size, put it under your needlepoint canvas to be sure there is space for the details. Like what you see? Using a extra fine marker made for fabric, trace the item onto your canvas. Once it is traced, darken the lines. Next I charted “ti esti” and added a question mark. I think it will fit nicely below the animal, starting near the back foot. I’ll count to be sure there is enough room and color the intersections to match the chart. Above the tail I want to put a

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Here are some more great ideas for your custom canvas. Little Me Dolls A favorite little ballerina: Get down on your knees, take a full front shot with her legs slightly apart, arms out slightly, also. Then, have her carefully turn around and take a back shot, with her in the same stance, or have her stand still and you go around to her back. Get as close as you can, without cropping her head or feet. Take one more photo, a closeup of the face, including the hair. A photo without the tutu, is best, as a tutu can easily be added to the finished needlepointed doll. This can be done with any child, not just a ballerina, how about a t-ball or soccer player? Think about the choice of clothing and how you would want to stitch it, choose good lighting, and don’t worry about any background as

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The kitty photo as seen at the beginning of yesterday’s article was enhanced by adding just a hint of lavender to the eyes. The photograph just did not do justice to the real eyes. Have you ever seen such beautiful purple eyes? Create a family heirloom by adding lettering personalizes any canvas, and there are so many fonts to choose from! Just let me know what lettering you want and basically where you want it. It’s a good place to start! I can also enlarge photos, and here’s where technology rates high on my list. Using a small copy of an original does not result in the best clarity if there is a significant amount of enlargement. For example: a 2”x 1.5” copy of a photo, enlarged, will not be clear . . . poor choice. In fact, it will look horrible and I just won’t take on that job.

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Today through Thursday we’ll have Sandy Grossman-Morris as our guest poster, giving up the next step in our series about creating custom canvases. I’m back, with a little more bloggy inspiration. Some of you may remember that last time I was featured on Janet’s Wonderful Blog, our air conditioner had decided to go on strike. Well, Bob the Builder got it running again…it was just a fuse. Yay! So, I am a happy camper once again. o.k., on to the important stuff. Last time I shared my knowledge of what makes a suitable Custom Canvas. This time around, we will be having fun, fun, fun, with Custom Needlepoint Canvases! I love, and I mean absolutely LOVE an artistic challenge, the chance to improve or enhance what you have in mind for me to put onto canvas. Without giving out proprietary secrets, I take a bit of techno geeky abilities and

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Yesterday we learned about some types of images that work for custom needlepoint in Part One of Sandy’s post. Today, we’ll learn about two other types of images. Tomorrow, you’ll see mt choices for this projects. Artwork: Children’s artwork is generally perfect for placing on canvas. Children usually like to use many bright colors and objects are simple (great for fun stitches and fabulous fibers). A family drawn in crayon, placed on canvas and stitched, has more lasting emotional value than a professional portrait any day of the week. Collages, paintings, and other artwork by adults, that is pleasing to the eye will most likely work on canvas. Store Logos, Ranch Brands and Pennsylvania Hex Signs are awesome on canvas. When choosing artwork, look at the original piece and imagine it in needlepoint stitches. Will an overall continental be best or do you see yourself using all sorts of stitches?

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