While this book does have projects, the focus seems to be on looking at artists' process and inspiration. In this case antique quilts were selected by various British artists. They selected elements from the quilts and went through the process of making a new piece. One point I got from the book is that the author, in conjunction with the selected artists, was trying to encourage people to look at quilts and elements in quilts in order to give confidence to people in designing their own pieces.

Within the first two pages, the author is talking about keeping a sketchbook/journal with things that inspire you in it. As the book wore on, I noticed a lot about process and I liked reading about different artists and the process they went through to create their new piece. The book talks about being inspired by old quilts rather than dismissing them out of hand as too old.

There are different techniques discussed. One quilt, Up the Stairs (pg.5) is covered with trees. The branches of the trees are highlighted with white circles in the background. The half circles in the background really make the branches stand out, but the white doesn't scream for attention either. Another technique with a number of fabulous examples is quilting. The quilting in the Triple X Quilt (pg.21) has the most wonderful feathers and a great stylized egg shaped pattern in the inner border.

I really enjoyed the descriptions of the process some of the designers went through. Dinah Travis's sketchbook is laid out and included, page by page, which really gives insight into her design and quiltmaking process. Hilary Richardson does something in her process that I would like to try. "When Hilary begins a quilt on a specific theme, she seeks clues in the dictionary definitions of words connected to the theme. She will often make a list words and topics that relate to the theme. She then collects photographs, cuttings and printed material..." (pg.57-58).

One of my favorite artists, [a:Laura Kemshall|918761|Linda Kemshall|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] is also included in this book.

There are sidebars that discuss various topics related to the quilt in the chapter. Many of these sidebars discuss historical aspects of British history.

I would love to see the Electric Quilt Company look at historic quilts like the 1718 Silk Patchwork Coverlet (pg.7) and create patterns in their software.

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Twelve members of the Quilters' Guild of the British Isles make art quilts inspired by traditional English quilts. I don't know if this one would really appeal to art quilters; I bought it for the photos of the 19th Century quilts that inspired these projects.