If you know me at all you know that I love the bejeezus out of Sarah Fielke. Not only is she an incredibly wonderful person, her quilts seriously blow me away. I mean they either take my breath away or make me want to sneak up and steal them, or both. Her work has that ineffable something that eludes precise description, which is why the publication of her first solo book (she’s done two others with a collaborator) is so exciting to me, and why I was so giddy to be asked to be a part of the blog tour.
The book itself has 10 pairs of projects; each pair includes a small quilt that introduces an idea or technique and a large quilt that expands on that small project. While that is a great way for someone to ease into something new to them, the small projects aren’t just tools for learning; they really stand on their own as quilts and totally kick proverbial butt. Of course they do; they’re Sarah’s.
I could go on about the ins and outs of the book, but what I think sums things up best is the fact that Quilting From Little Things just made me want to make stuff. I’m not just talking inspiration, which is why I normally buy quilt books; it made me want to make the quilts in the book. (Though of course I don’t want to make Sarah’s quilts, I want to make my versions of her quilts, which is what she does such a good job of imparting throughout the book.)
Right now I’m working on my meagre triangle skills and my precision with big pieces (while I love 1″ finished squares, anything over 8″ gives me fits). So I decided to dive right in with Sarah’s Sandwich Short of a Picnic:
Of course my version has some minor issues; I’m still working on not losing my points, at least on giant triangles. (My fault, not the pattern’s). Once I get this one quilted (or more likely knotted) and bound it will make it’s way to Bumble Beans Basics, unfortunately not in time for the December quilt distribution…
When I saw the quilt I immediately saw the large single-fabric triangles the way I laid the quilt out, in three different prints; I think of them as triangular bunting, turning Sarah’s picnic into a carnival. Oh wait, you don’t know about the picnic??? Well, I love that Sarah includes the stories behind her designs. You’ll just have to read about them yourself. Know what else I love about the book??? The diagrams. Yep, I’m a diagram dork, but Sarah’s are so charming. I love that she went with hand-sketched diagrams, they just fit her and the book so perfectly. See…
So, to sum up:
Sarah Fielke = Awesome!!!
Quilting From Little Things = A must have.
My points = Need improvement.
Oh, and if you want your own copy of Quilting From Little Things,
Martha Pullen is offering a great deal on it: Five bucks off if you use the promo code QUILTLITTLE.
Oh, and don’t forget to check out the other stops on the blog tour:
Monday 28th November: Fat Quarterly & Amy Ellis
Tuesday 29th November: Me!!!
Wednesday 30th November: Camp Follower Bags & Ryan Walsh
Thursday 1st December: The Happy Zombie & Moda Lissa
Friday 2nd December: Mrs Schmenkman Quilts & True Up
Saturday 3rd December: Pink Chalk Fabrics & Pam Kitty Morning
Sunday 4th December: Sew, Mama, Sew! & Pat Sloan
And thank you Sarah for asking me to play along. I love the heck out of the book, but I love you even more. As always, you knocked this one out of the park!!! Look, you even got me to follow a pattern; it’s the very first time ever!!! Now that’s something…
Hugs,
Thomas
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