I had the chance to be in Philadelphia last week. While there I decided to check out Rittenhouse Needlepoint to see if they carried any
Maggie Co handpainted needlepoint canvases and potentially some of
my geishas.
It was located right on the corner at 1737 Chestnut on the second floor. The shop was sun filled and inviting. There were multiple racks of handpainted needlepoint canvases. I took a look at several and thought that they were art piecess in themselves. There were lots of intstuction books as a wall full of colorful thread.
In the corner was a seating area with comfy chairs and couch for people to come and work on their needlepoint projects and chat.
I taked with Russell who freely gave me lots of information about painting canvases. I decided to purchase a couple of feet so I could try my hand at it. Russell recommended a 14 gauge canvas for painting. He also pointed out that one thing that makes a good painted needlepoint canvas is to paint the
stitch. It takes all the guess work out of stitching the canvas with regards to what color thread to put where.
While their custom painters use a special paint for the needlepoint industry, acrylic paints can be used by the novice painter. What is important is that the paint does not bleed -- especially when someone has put alot of work into stitching the canvas as steam can be used in the
finishing process. I am tempted to try painting the
Animal Stackers I finished recently. But probably should start with something a little simpler, like
my fish. They hold painting classes for those who are interested when they have at least 4 people signed up.
Contact them if you are interested.