Embroiderer's Progress Quilt: Overview

I started this project way back in 2011. Now that I’m embroidering again, it’s fitting to pick it back up. I published many of the block descriptions on DeviantArt back in the day, and it’s time to migrate them here.

The Embroiderer’s Progress Quilt: a way to show improvement, do something with all the little bits of embroidery I turn out, and keep warm all at the same time.

It started as a convergence of the thoughts “I really don’t have anything to do with this quilt batting” and “I really don’t have anything to do with these embroidery bits I have floating around”, with a dash of “I really don’t want to have another unfinished project laying about”. Before long the idea was formed: a quilt that acted as a collection of frames into which embroidery samplers and such could be sewn, and which could be used as a blanket in the meantime. (2021 note: With cats, use as a blanket is impractical.)

This is the blank quilt, with no embroidery in it yet. It is constructed as a basic sandwich of fabric, batting, fabric that is sewn over with the grey inch-wide tapes. The tapes are single fold and straight grain, with the ends overlapping underneath about 1/4”, and are sewn on with one seam straight down the middle. This winds up creating a half-inch border into which the embroideries are tucked, and that border is then sewn down on to the embroidery about 1/8” from the folded edge of the tape.

This is a diagram of the quilt, with numbers conveniently corresponding to each space. I’ll reference the blocks primarily by number.

Today, in 2021, the quilt has begun to tell a story.

I’ll gradually post closeups and descriptions of each block, and any new blocks I add. I have a backlog of a few, right now.