The Embroidered Plant Tracker: A Stitch of Connection in Lost and Lassoed
What Is the Embroidered Plant Tracker?
The embroidered plant tracker is a handmade project that Teddy Andersen begins in Chapter 21 of Lost and Lassoed. After starting a summer foraging project with Riley Ryder—using a 1998 Rocky Mountain Native Plant Guide Teddy found in her father’s garage—Teddy decides to create a permanent record of the plants they find. She takes a two-foot-square piece of cream-colored fabric, an embroidery hoop, and thread, and draws the plants they’ve prioritized. When she and Riley successfully locate a plant, Teddy stitches its image onto the fabric. Her plan is to finish the tracker by the end of the summer and turn it into a pillow for Riley.
The tracker first appears in Chapter 21 (Teddy) . Teddy is staying at Gus Ryder’s house to care for Riley while working things out in her own life. One evening, after dinner, she sets up on the living‑room floor and begins sketching. Gus comes downstairs, sees the project, and asks about it. She explains that she wants to track the fifteen plants Riley chose, embroider each on the fabric, and give the finished piece to Riley. Gus is visibly moved, calling it “really thoughtful.”
The tracker reappears in Chapter 36 (Teddy) , now months later. Teddy looks at the project before leaving Gus’s house; only three flowers remain to be found, including rock jasmine—the flower that started the whole pursuit. The tracker has become a countdown, a measure of nearly complete effort, and a source of both anticipation and anxiety.
In Chapter 40 (Gus) , Gus surprises Teddy and Riley by leading them to a patch of rock jasmine he cleared a trail to find. Riley shouts, “It’s rock fucking jasmine!” and the last embroidery space is finally filled. The tracker, now complete, represents the culmination of a shared summer quest.
How the Embroidered Plant Tracker Builds Meaning
The tracker’s meaning deepens across the narrative as Teddy’s relationship with Gus and Riley evolves.
1. A Bond with Riley
Initially, the plant tracker is a way for Teddy to connect with Riley. The foraging idea started when Riley saw the plant guide and wanted to “find all of these.” Teddy immediately embraces the idea, using pink sticky notes to mark Riley’s choices. The project gives them a shared language and a daily ritual. When Teddy describes the tracker to Gus, she says, “I thought it would be cool to track them” and that she’ll give it to Riley “maybe make it into a pillow or something.” The gift is an extension of Teddy’s care—she is not just a babysitter but someone who invests in Riley’s interests and creates something lasting.
2. A Mirror of Teddy’s Emotional Growth
Teddy’s character arc involves learning to let go of control and embrace vulnerability. The tracker mirrors this. In Chapter 36, she admits she’ll be “heartbroken” if they don’t find rock jasmine. That heartbreak is not just about a plant—it represents her fear of failing Riley and of losing the connection she has built. Yet the project also shows Teddy’s ability to create and nurture something outside herself. Earlier, in Chapter 21, she tells Gus she misses working at the boutique and making people feel beautiful. The tracker is a small but meaningful example of her doing exactly that: she is “making beautiful things that make people feel beautiful.”
3. Gus’s Recognition and Commitment
Gus’s reaction to the tracker is pivotal. In Chapter 21, he struggles to speak, and later he tells Teddy the whole foraging idea is “really thoughtful.” For a man who has spent years as a single father, seeing someone pour that kind of attention into his daughter is profound. In Chapter 40, Gus takes it further: he clears a trail on the north ridge, locates the rock jasmine, and plans a surprise ride so Teddy and Riley can finish the tracker together. He tells himself, “I wanted to do this for her. And for Riley. I wanted them to be able to finish what they’d started this summer, and I wanted to be part of it.” The tracker becomes the physical object that catalyzes Gus’s open declaration of commitment—his desire to be “all in. Forever.”
Connections to Themes
The embroidered plant tracker weaves through several of the novel’s central themes:
Found Family
Teddy is not related to Riley by blood, but the tracker treats their relationship as family. It is a gift a parent would make. The project helps transform Teddy from a babysitter into a permanent part of the Ryder family unit.
Vulnerability and Letting Go of Control
Teddy’s anxiety about not finding rock jasmine (Chapter 36) reveals her fear of failure. The tracker is something she cannot fully control—the flowers may not appear. By opening herself to that possibility, she practices vulnerability. Gus’s surprise shows that letting others help can lead to fulfillment.
Love and Commitment
Gus’s act of finding the rock jasmine is a concrete expression of his love for Teddy and Riley. The tracker completion coincides with his internal resolution to be “all in.” The object becomes proof that love is not just spoken but acted upon.
Single Parenthood
Gus has raised Riley alone; Teddy’s involvement lightens his load and shows him that his daughter can be loved by someone else. The tracker is one of many moments where Teddy demonstrates that she is “all in” for Riley too.
Literary Craft: How the Symbol Works
Lyla Sage uses the tracker as a concrete emblem of abstract growth. It is a physical object that characters can point to, discuss, and act toward. Its materiality—the fabric, thread, drawn lines—makes the emotional progress tangible. The tracker also functions as a narrative countdown. Each new embroiders plant signals time passing and relationships deepening. When only three spaces are left, the tension rises, mirroring the unresolved romantic tension between Teddy and Gus. The final discovery of rock jasmine brings both the plant hunt and the romantic arc to a satisfying close.
The embroidery itself is a repetitive, careful act—much like the slow work of trust and intimacy. Teddy says, “Doing things with my hands was my favorite thing.” The tracker is her hands doing what they love, and that love extends to the people she makes the piece for.
4 Study Questions with Answers
1. Why does Teddy decide to embroider the plants rather than just list them in a notebook?
Teddy explains that she “liked being able to create things” and “having a vision and executing it.” Embroidery is an extension of her artistic identity; she used to embroider flowers on jeans in middle school. The tactile, decorative nature of embroidery makes the tracker a gift rather than a chore—something that can become a pillow, a keepsake. It also requires sustained attention, which mirrors the sustained attention she gives to Riley and Gus.
2. How does Gus’s involvement in the tracker change the meaning of the symbol?
At first the tracker is solely Teddy and Riley’s project. Gus observes it from the outside. But in Chapter 40, he becomes an active participant by locating the final flower and arranging the ride. The tracker no longer belongs only to the female bond; it now includes Gus. This shift signals that their relationship has moved from rivalry to partnership. The tracker becomes a family artifact, something the three of them created together.
3. In what way does the tracker connect to Teddy’s past job at the boutique?
In Chapter 21, Teddy tells Gus she misses “making clothes” and “helping people find something they felt good in.” The tracker is a small‑scale version of that work: she is making something beautiful that will make Riley feel loved. It also represents Teddy’s desire to “have goalposts that I could move as I accomplished things.” The tracker has clear milestones (find a plant, stitch it) that give her measurable progress during a chaotic summer when her career is uncertain.
4. What does Teddy’s fear of not finding rock jasmine reveal about her character?
Teddy says, “If we didn’t find one this week, I’d be heartbroken. I didn’t want to fail Riley.” Her fear shows how deeply she has invested her self‑worth in this project and in her role as Riley’s caregiver. She has been her own father’s caregiver; she carries a need to succeed in nurturing roles. The rock jasmine becomes a test of whether she is truly capable of giving Riley a perfect summer. Gus’s intervention teaches her that she does not have to bear that weight alone.