Custom Painted Pet Portraits

We love pets! Our in house painters are capable of reproducing needlepoint canvases of your favorite pet. Send us photos of your dog, cat or any other animals to painting@rittenhouseneedlepoint.com  for an estimate.

Below is a custom painted Lulu (Russell & Stephen's standard poodle). Compare it to the real photo and the canvas. Our painter captured her looks and expression very well, and combined with a colorful bookshelf behind, the canvas forms an interesting juxtaposition of colors, textures, and points of interest.

    The photos below show the process. You can send us photos with notes, and we will provide you an estimate of the cost. After you put down a 50% deposit our artist will send you a quick pencil sketch.  You can email with us back and forth to modify the sketch, after we finalize the sketch, our paint will paint it on canvas and mail it to you.  The whole process will be finished within 4 weeks after deposit. We also offer a fully colored sketch, which will cost more, but you will get to see exactly what it will look like after painting. 

Not every pet portrait painting need to be fully colored, a simple line work can also be stitched up into a nice gift for yourself or your family. This will be a much cheaper way to do but still have an aesthetically pleasing result. Again, to get your lovely pet a portrait, email us at painting@rittenhouseneedlepoint.com. 

Summer Dreaming

At this point in the winter we're thinking about summer. Beaches, Farmer's Markets, Sunshine and warmth! To get in the spirit of summer even when it's chilly outside we like to stitch canvases that

depict summer. The Sea Shells Tote to the right is from Julie Pischke. It's a beautiful tote, and not only is the design perfect for summer, but this bag would be perfect for carrying all of your summer weekend goodies. You can see the finished photo of it to the left. It is from Julie's website. She has a bunch of different samples of how it can be finished. It's great to see the different colors people chose for the background! It really shows it is an easy bag to customize.

When I think of the fruit that symbolizes summer I think of Watermelon. This eye-catching canvas by Melissa Shirley is so bright and cheerful.

The colors are so vibrant. I think that Planet Earth silks would be beautiful on this canvas. The shine from the silk would really make the fruit look juicy! You could also try some thicker threads or a special stitch to make the seeds stand out!

Last spring we had a rush of ladies excited about this painting of Bathing Beauties. Our painter Jia painted. The first lady to stitch it did such an amazing job. The entire piece was done with special stitches,

so that each surface had a different texture. It really helped distinguish everything and make the piece really special. We really like this piece because it celebrates all the different types of women you will see at the beach. Stitching this piece would definitely make me want to go for a swim! If you're interesed in this canvas give us a call at the shop. We'll be happy to help!

Another beach themed canvas is this adorable little Beach Hut by

Julia's Needleworks. It is a fun quick little project on 18m. It is 3.5 x 4, so this would be a great little project to either bring on a trip or finish in time for summer! It would look great either framed or as a larger ornament hanging on a door!

All of these canvases are really inspiring when you're wishing for summer. Give us a call at the shop if you would like to order any (or if there are links to the item on the website, you can also place orders through that!

Happy Stitching!