Susan Portra is a contemporary needlepoint designer, teacher, lecturer and author.  Susan has created stitch guides for numerous needlepoint designers - Terry Enfield / Juell Designs, Peter Ashe, Liz, Melissa Shirley, Julia Needleworks and Sandy Gilmore (Once In A Blue Moon) - just to name a few.

She teaches in southern California at Coast Needlepoint  in Santa Monica on Tuesday evenings, Wednesdays, and Thursdays two weeks out of every month and at Newport Needlepoint in Costa Mesa on Saturdays, Mondays,  Tuesday mornings and Fridays two weeks out of every month.  She also teaches in northern California at The Regal Rabbit in Windsor (schedule to be posted).  Come February and October, you will find her at Needlepoint in Paradise in Naples, Florida.  Eight needlepoint cruises have taken her the world over with  many stitchers joining her for the cruise and experiencing one of her new designs featured on the cruise.  With workshops and teaching National Seminars for the Embroidery Guild of America and the American Needlepoint Guild in the 80's and 90's, her students and designs continue to take top honors in needlepoint competitions all over the country.  Her Infinity (charted design on a marked canvas) and Tibetan Boy (painted canvas) designs were award winners at the American Needlepoint Guild Seminar in Tucson  September 2006. 

On her video, Bring Your Canvas To Life, as well as in her classes, bringing life to the painted canvas is what she's all about.  She offers her students the tools to view the painted canvas through an artist's eyes.  Helping each student with color combinations, yarn selection and the choice of appropriate stitches for specific areas on their canvases is the focus of her classes.  Teaching and stitching keep her life full of what she loves most - needlepoint. 

Susan working with one of her students-analyzing and deciding stitches

Susan fixing a boo-boo?????

One on one during class

Susan being silly - it's been a long day.....