Behind the Canvas - Grandin Lane Needlepoint

I am basketweave girly! My goal for this year is to add a few more stitches to my arsenal - I’m open to recommendations! 

I’ve always been a bit boring when it comes to threads - I learned to stitch with DMC pearl cotton and never looked back. Another one of my needlepoint goals for this year is to try a project in Silk & Ivory. 

I’ve always been a crafty person, and there was something about studying painted canvases while stitching that made me want to try it myself. I worked in a paint your own pottery studio all through high school so I had experience in detailed painting with small brushes, and needlepoint canvases felt like a fun challenge! I also have always been a huge fan of pop culture, and I had so many ideas bopping around in my brain of pop culture inspired canvases, so I decided to give it a go! 

Pop culture, fun, nostalgia

Almost all of my designs are inspired by pop culture, so I love tapping into things that make stitchers say “oh wow, she gets me”. I get so excited whenever a stitcher reaches out after seeing my designs to say that we love all the same shows or movies. 

Painting the Eras Tour friendship bracelet was the most fun I’ve had while painting - the Swiftie in me lived for picking the exact right color to represent each album era on each bead. I also love any time I get to paint with silver and gold sparkly paints!

My Ted Lasso Believe canvas - that was the first canvas that really took off for me in my shop so I had a lot of pride in stitching it and thinking about all of the people all over the country who were also stitching my design.

If you are just painting for yourself, don’t sweat how perfect or precise it looks on the canvas. As long as you can tell what colors go where, you should be set! If I am painting just for myself to stitch, I just paint dots on the cross sections! If you are painting for others, my biggest piece of advice is to stock up on fine tip brushes! The more you use them, the faster they fray and become unpredictable!

On the couch while watching a comfort show, like Gilmore Girls or Parks and Recreation.

Going to concerts or obsessing over my dog.

Good scissors, extra needles and an extra canvas in case I get bored of the one I’m already stitching and want to switch it up!

Young Sheldon is bringing me so much joy - I’ve crushed 5 seasons in the past couple months.

I love the music review podcast Every Single Album, especially when they cover Taylor Swift! 

For anything needlepoint related, my go to is always @nashvilleneedlepointer - for non-needlepoint, I am obsessed with @KateKennedy, the pop culture commentator behind the Be There In Five brand and podcast! 

Christmas stockings for everyone in my house! I dream of designing and stitching them myself one day.

@grandinlaneneedlepoint