Heather's Round Robin

Heather's Round Robin Band by Band

Fabric:
32-ct. Star Sapphire linen

Color Palette:
Teals, purples, greens, navy, pale yellow, blues, mallard

Fibers Provided:
Matching the linen:
· DMC perle cotton #8 and #12 (for use with hardanger, Mountmellick, pulled thread, needleweaving, etc.)
· Gumnuts "stars" silk (hey, it matched, I threw it in)
· DMC floss 927 (for attaching beads, mainly)
Overdyed fibers:
· Waterlilies: Celadon, Fir, Meringue
· Needle Necessities overdyed floss and Kreinik braid #8: Caribbean Skies
· Weeks Dye Works: Concord, Iris
· Silk 'n Colors: Tapestry Green. The whole border is in this fiber.
· Six Strand Sweets: Sour Grapes
Other (accessory colors):
· DMC rayon 30503 and 30504
· Kreinik braid #4: 198 (pale green), 210 (gold dust)
· Beads! Used in the sampler were an antique metallic that matches the perle cotton, a gold metallic, a gold-filled light teal, an AB gray (with lots of lavender highlights), and a purple/gold/green/blue metallic mix.

Heather's top

The blackwork border you see at the top now goes all the way around the piece! It is modified from one of Rae's Christmas ornaments from the JCS special ornament issues. Likewise, the corner motif is from another ornament. They are both stitched with one strand of Silk 'n' Colors Tapestry Green.
The mountmellick heart in the first band, from "Mountmellick I" is worked in #8 perle cotton. The stacked pyramid herringbone on either side is stitched with Needle Necessities overdyed Kreinik braid.
The last band is Victoria & Albert Herringbone, stitched with two strands of Sour Grapes Six Strand Sweets.

Judy's 1st band

Row 1 of 4: Rae's Spring Jewels Sampler - the stitch is a Butterfly Stitch/Modified Coral Knot from (Band 4) - stitched in overdye and then tied with Krenik Braid 8 (I think).
Row 2 of 4: Rae's Blackwork Band Sampler - the Greek key design was stitched with Needle Necessities overdye to surround the repeating flower that was stitched in the silk that I added to the stash.
Row 3 of 4: Repeated row 1
Row 4 of 4: Reverse long arm cross stitch also in overdye - may have been Week's Dye works

Teresa's 1st band

Rows 1 & 3

From Rae's "Summer Garden Gate" a row of Tied Windmills. The "windmills" are stitched in Waterlillies "Fir" and they are "tied" with Waterlillies "Lemon Meringue.

Row 2 (or Area A since there are rows within this row)

The motif on each end is inspired by mosaic work found underneath the current Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Israel. The mosaic work is believed to be part of the original church built, probably in the Byzantine era.

I took this picture while on tour in Jan. of 2001. It is worked Weeks Dye Works "Concord" and DMC #926, I also added gold beads (#557) in there, because in the actual mosaic there are little gold "flowers" in those sections.
The top and bottom "rows" between the motif, are "Celtic Herringbone" from Rae's "Silk Pulled Thread Stitchery". I used Waterlillies "Iris" as the base and Gumnut "Stars" (402) over.
In between the Celtic herringbone, is a vine from Rae's "Victorian Bag". I used the "side" portion. The vine is stitched with Waterlillies "Fir" and instead of Moss Knots I used beads (who would have thought that!?!), Delica irridescent grey (DB-11).

Row 4

This is my "signature" line. I decided to do Rice Stitches over 4. I used DMC 926 for the crosses (2 strands) and DMC 928 (1 strand) as the tie-down legs. I can't remember where I first learned this stitch, but I'm sure I've done a few in Rae's classes. It's one of my favorite stitches because you can make it look so different just by changing the way to use your fibers. (Does that make sense?)

Jill's 1st band

Band 1

Row of Palestrina Knots in Weeks Dye Works Concord.
Row of Smyrna Crosses in Kreinik Braid #210. Rae always mentions that I lived in Smyrna and that it is the only town that matches the name of a stitch, so it seemed appropriate to add this in her honor.
Row of Palestrina Knots in Weeks Dye Works Concord.

Band 2

This band is Band 3 of Royal Blackwork. The satin medallions (double meaning here since Heather and I found a love of stamp medallions in a class) are stitched in Perle Cotton 12 #928 to match the linen. The diagonal cable was also stitched in Perle Cotton 12 #928. I replaced the buttonhole bars with flowers in beads #3007.

Band 3

My favorite stitch! Russian Braid using Rayon Floss #30503.

Judy's 2nd band

Row 1 of 4: Stitched with Needle Necessities #134 - The actual stitch is Pulled Checquer - however this row was inspired by the snow that we have had several times this year as well as from Miss Alexandra Band 6 of the chatelaine- Dutch Stitch.
Row 2 of 4: Stitched with SixSweetStrands Sour Grapes - The stitch is French Stitch with Upright Cross which is Band 3 of the Dogwood stitchery on the Needleroll.
Row 3 of 4: Stitched with DMC 926 for the Lace Wheel Flowers from Summer Garden Gate and the eyelets in between are stitched with Weeks Dye Works Overdyed Iris.
Row 4 of 4: Stitched with Krenik Fine Braid Overdyed 2034 with a Herringbone stitch.

Teresa's 2nd band

Row 1 of 3: Adapted from Royal Blackwork. It also reminded me of some of the columns I saw in Israel, at least the adaptation does. The Satin Stitches were done in Waterlilies “Fir”, the Algerian Eyelets in Gumnuts #402.
Row 2 of 3: From The Embroidress, area 11 – Scallop Stitch & Coral Knot. Scallop Stitch in DMC 928. Coral Knots in Perle 12 #928. I added beads to every other Scallop because…well why not see what it would look like with beads!
Row 3 of 3: Woven Herringbone from “Irish Mountmellick Whitework Band Sampler”, band 8. If I’m not mistaken, this was the first class that Heather and I took “together”, although we didn’t really meet and become friends until the following year, in another of Rae’s classes. So, I felt is was appropriate that I include something from that class.

Jill's 2nd band

Row 1 of 3: Grouping of 4 Rhodes Maltese Crosses (Band 2 of the Millenium Garden Gate) using 2 strands of DMC 926 on right and left sides of band. Beads (561?) are grouped with the crosses. The center is a band of French Stitch with Upright Cross (Band 3 of the Dogwood Needleroll) in 1 strand of Week's Dye Works Concord with a 374 bead on each upright cross. Surrounded on top and bottom by bands of Belgian Cross (the grass from Pumpkin Harvest) in Kreinik 210 #4 braid.
Row 2 of 3: Renaissance Stitch (Flame Pattern from Millenium Garden Gate) in DMC 928 and Needle Necessities Overdyed #134, 1 strand. The pattern is topped with a row of beads, 546-729.
Row 3 of 3: The center is Ukranian Braid and Oblique Satin (Band 1 of the Inside Panel, Folded Pocket of the Maiden and the Nightingales) using 2 strands of DMC 928. On top and bottom, satin stitch using 2 strands of DMC 926 and Week's Dye Works Iris.

At the very bottom I stitched two more flowers from "Mountmellick I", and I surrounded the whole thing with the blackwork border.