Book Review: Little Quilts by Sarah Fielke & Amy Lobsiger

My honeycomb quilt was a joy to make!

Little Quilts: 15 Step-by-Step Projects for Adorably Small Quilts made it onto my Amazon wishlist prior to its release in July, but I finally got the excuse I needed to order when Sarah Fielke started up the #LittleQuiltsSwap on Instagram. With all the swaps I've been joining, the book looked promising for some project inspiration, and I'm happy to say it delivers! I started on the Honeycomb quilt right away, and I can't get over how sweet it is.

This book has so many details I enjoy in a tidy little package! For starters, the table of contents has photos. I'm super thankful for that alone. More sewing books need to do this.

The book contains seven quilts by Sarah, seven by Amy, and one they designed together. I expected the quilts to be easily identifiable as either Sarah's or Amy's, but they really blend well together. In fact, I didn't even realize there were two authors when I first flipped through the book.

The variety of quilt styles, techniques, and overall look makes for a really fun collection of projects. There are traditionally pieced quilts, as well as ones that use applique, EPP, FPP, and embroidery. All the projects use modern fabrics, but have a vintage feel which makes them super versatile.

I love quilty sketches!

The photos are so dreamy! Every projects includes a straight-on shot of the full quilt, a few detail shots, and a simply styled lifestyle shot. They didn't blow the bank on elaborate in-scene shots, but for mini quilts, I don't think it matters. It's a perfect example of how budget photography can look great in a book.

Little Quilts doesn't skimp on diagrams and illustrations, which is a major selling point for me. I'm a visual learner, and I couldn't have asked for better visual instructions. I really appreciated the pencil texture they used to render the lines too. You can't beat the precise detail from digital illustrations, but they always look so sterile. Bring back the more natural feel adds so much warmth and style to the book! I'm pretty sure my eyes sparkled when I first saw them.

Embroidering the cutest little bumblebee

The project instructions are crystal clear and very well organized. I never felt lost while reading through them. The type is on the small side, which may be a tad difficult for some to read, although I had no trouble. All measurements are given in both inches and centimeters, probably because Sarah is Australian while Amy is American.

Material requirements are super specific, which will please fastidious quilters. At first, I thought it was off-putting that it was so specific, (like listing 50 wt black and yellow Aurifil thread for the embroidered bee on the Honeycomb quilt when I would have just said embroidery floss), but I realized it might be nice to know exactly what Sarah and Amy used. That way, you can get a feel for their materials and anticipate what substitutions may look like. Knowing that Sarah suggested using Aurifil thread helped me to decide to use two strands of DMC floss as opposed to my usual three.

This guy is too stinking cute!

All project templates are at the end of the book. They are clearly labeled and are already at 100% scale, ready to copy. Three cheers for no scaling! The only thing I would have preferred would have been a pull-out pattern page. As a book lover, I hate having to crack books' spines to get decent photocopies.

Overall, this book is a great buy, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for some quilty inspiration.

My mini wall's newest addition!