Quilt Love

Few of us are fortunate enough to have a handmade quilt handed down through our family. In our grandmother's time, quilt-makers used whatever pieces of fabrics they could lay their hands on, from worn-out clothes to flour sacks and scraps. When the quilt was pieced together, its fabric represented something that was practical, precious and personal - an heirloom that would be passed down for generations.

In Quilt Love, bespoke quilt designer and maker Cassandra Ellis teaches her freeform design techniques, which rely in part on intuition and improvisation, to enable you to create your own contemporary heirloom.

Cassandra takes a refreshing, non-intimidating approach to quilting. She demonstrates how to use your eye and trust your instincts to gather together fabrics that remind you of a special time, person or occasion. Through a wonderful collection of 20 projects - presented in four chapters 'Big Events', 'Love', 'Friendship' and 'Memories' - she shows how to tell stories through patchwork, using fabric to draw together the threads of memories, histories, hope and love. As well as the challenging projects that are true labours of love, such as full-size quilts for beds, there are simple designs for quick and easy projects that you can complete in a couple of hours, including cushions, framed artworks, a tote bag, a pet blanket and a simple curtain. It is also possible to improvise patches from any of the designs can be sewn up to make a cushion cover, for example, or used as the building block for more elaborate designs.

Making patchwork and quilts is the perfect opportunity to recycle fabric and use up scraps to make something beautiful and significant that will be treasured for years to come. Cassandra shows how to incorporate fragments of fabric that have special meaning, using a piece that you love as the starting point and core of your design. This could be a cherished item of clothing, a tablecloth or curtain, a piece of heirloom embroidery, or specially chosen contemporary fabric that excites you - whatever you love the look of.