Project Overview

An offshoot of The Wandering House, The Embroidery Project is an ancillary endeavor that invited residents of Northfield and Lanesboro to embroider fragments of the audio collected in each town. Participants were given an embroidery kit consisting of a piece of fabric, embroidery floss, a needle and a sentence. All the sentences came from audio snippets collected by The Wandering House in summer and fall of 2019 in response to the prompt I know I’m home when… Once assembled, the embroidered fragments became part of two distinct community quilts, one for each town, that function as both a repository of the testimonies recorded and a testament to creativity and collaboration under pandemic.

The Northfield Community Quilt had its premiere at the Arts Guild exhibition
I Know I’m Home When… in May 2021 in Northfield.

The Lanesboro Community Quilt is currently in the making and will be shown at Lanesboro Arts in early 2022. Both quilts, along with related projects coming out of The Wandering House will be exhibited in spring/summer of 2022 at the Rochester Art Center.

“I had a general plan for the design, but not for the flower section. The flowers were the most fun as I just kept stitching, adding more and more. The more I added, the more I wanted to add. My friend had a huge stash of embroidery floss and with so many color options, I didn’t want to stop!”

Embroiderer: Ann Ohotto Thompson

Photo credit: Kara Maloney

“The quote “I feel comfortable, yet still really alive” was a perfect fit for me. If I had to describe myself in one word these days, it would be “homebody.” I had never embroidered before… but it got to be too late to politely back out, and I surrendered to the commitment. In doing so, I discovered a new craft and a new talent and am so thankful for the opportunity to participate.”

Embroiderer: Annie Boehm

Photo Credit: Annie Boehm

“I sit in the rocking chair of my living room where I can look out the window and see the garden this time of year”. As a gardener, this quote seemed perfect for me. In 2020, with the world in lockdown, I had the opportunity to spend time at home and create new gardens in my yard. I also had the chance to reacquaint myself with handcrafts, such as embroidery, that I had enjoyed in the past. It was truly a joy to spend time playing with various colors and textures to create a “garden” on fabric and to be part of a community of embroidery artists.

Embroiderer: Debra Beck

Photo credit: Heather Lawrenz

Kits in progress

“A friend called my attention to the project, and since I’ve embroidered before it seemed like a fun project during an otherwise quiet fall with the pandemic and all. I had no idea how much talent I would see!”

Embroiderer: Lou Hamann

Photo credit: Kara Maloney

“When I received my sentence, I had no clue what to do with it. I was expecting a happy phrase about front porch lights, rusty bicycles or being with family. I studied my sentence, saying it out loud, showing it to people… I decided that there was no use in trying to ascribe symbols to the sentence and decided to try and capture the feelings it gave me. In the center, you’ll see a swath of intersecting shades of blue, meant to capture the feeling of a sea of emotions churning inside of you.”

Embroiderer: Anna Schumacher

Photo credit: Cecilia Cornejo Sotelo

“I joined this project as an absolute beginner. Although I could not spend a lot of time on my piece, I am really happy that I learned about embroidery through other participants’ work. My sentence “I’m with my family” was also meaningful for me. I have been away from my family for two years, and I could tell how grateful this person was for being with a family. Thinking about that person warmed my heart and helped me get through this difficult time.”

Embroiderer: Ayaka Moriyama

Photo credit: Cecilia Cornejo Sotelo

“Working on this project has been thoroughly delightful. Early in the process I described the project to my mom and we had a lovely conversation about the embroidery work that we did in the 1970s. We talked about how nice it is to be part of a project that is building community during the pandemic. Recently I received another delight, my son has taken up embroidery and we are teaching each other stitches and sharing design ideas. I never expected to feel so connected to the piece when I first received someone else’s words to embroider. This has become so much more than a crafting project, it has become a delightful journey.”

Embroiderers: Erica Zweifel & Christof Zweifel

Photo credit: Cecilia Cornejo Sotelo

“I came to the embroidery project as a near-novice embroiderer. I was excited about participating in a community project during the pandemic and interested in practicing a new skill. I knew that I wanted to incorporate the shape of the letters into the design, and finally came up with the idea of an umbrella and its handle as a way to portray shelter and safety. Once I had this initial idea, I was surprised at how quickly the rest of the project came together.”

Embroiderer: Kate Niemisto

Photo credit: Cecilia Cornejo Sotelo