This is the third blogpost in a series, you will find part 1 here and part 2 here.
The series is about a challenge: My quilt buddies came up with this idea to proof how my book can have an impact on them. All of them went from the same inspirational picture of a room and developed a color scheme, found design elements and finally created a quilt project.

Today it is Christine's turn, blogging under GRAPES AND HEARTS.
Starting with the same picture as Karin and Ulrike did, she came up with a surprisingly different idea! You will be amazed!

She wrote an awesome blogpost about her project and she also has a giveaway on her blog. So hop over to read everything and take your chance to win a price.

WHY ZEN CHIC INSPIRED WILL MAKE YOU A BETTER MODERN QUILTER - PART 2

In last week's blog post I already introduced my new quilt book ZEN CHIC INSPIRED, A GUIDE FOR THE MODERN QUILTER.

I talked about what is Zen Chic Inspired and for whom I wrote this book. And I also showed you a little sneak peek inside and a video about my design process.

And then I told you about that fun evening when my quilt buddies came up with a

CHALLENGE 

the challenge, that all of them start by a picture of a room. To have that same room as the resource for all of them. And following the advise from ZEN CHIC INSPIRED everyone would create her own idea from this inspirational room. That was the goal.

So here is our next contribution:

THE SECOND QUILT IDEA IN THE SERIES

is from Ulrike Stephan. Ulrike joined our Modern Quilt Guild when we started in 2012. By that time the more modern world of quilting was quite new for her, but she became very interested and she likes to explore more and more modern ideas.

Starting by the same picture as Karin did (here it is as a reference)

she chose her colors and sketched some ideas. First she thought of a table runner, but liked in the end a square format better. Playing with design elements (she also found the lampshades appealing, but her design element is a smaller half circle with a large half circle) she made two first little projects: 

Two coasters, about 5 1/2" x 5 1/2", quilted

But this was only a warming up, haha... 

She was in the mood to play around more and designed this so cool wall hanger. The two pictures show possible variations she was considering. She decided for the second picture.

CAN YOU SEE THE CONNECTING DOTS?

Both, Karin and Ulrike, created a similar color palette from the picture without even talking to each other or showing each other the work in process. That means, they got how to pick the colors from a picture, how to make a harmonious color scheme.

And both of them choose the half circle element for their design layout - because this is such an obvious shape to see in the picture. Although both did very different things with it.

I love how minimalist the quilt of Ulrike turned out; this is a brave quilt design.

AND WHAT DOES ULRIKE SAY ABOUT THE PROCESS?

Of course I wanted to know, what she was thinking about dealing with this challenge, with this task. And here is what she said:

Usually when starting a new project or a quilt for a specific room, I am lost and don't know where to begin, what to choose. And usually I end up with a shot in the dark, something random. I want to sew something, but I have no clue what exactly. Working on this challenge was very exciting, because all of a sudden I had so many hints and clues, a kind of guideline for my creative choices. And I can imagine, that this will work with all kind of pictures, e.g. landscapes or so, now when I know how to pick that color palette. Actually doing this exercise has opened my creativity and now I could go on and on. It was so much fun.

Thank you, Ulrike, for sharing your pictures and projects and for contributing to this challenge.

Why Zen Chic Inspired will make you a better modern Quilter - Part 1

What is ZEN CHIC INSPIRED?

Zen Chic Inspired is a new book, my first book, a guide for modern quilters. I connect the dots between Interior design and quilting by guiding you how to derive a quilt idea from a room, to be more exact: from that room which is the quilt's destination.
The book gives you 12 project examples with clear instructions to make your own version of the idea.
But it also gives you design-tips to develop an own idea.

For whom is ZEN CHIC INSPIRED?

The book is for the modern quilter, for the one who loves colorful, simple and minimalist quilts, unique quilts with an artistic approach. It has projects from beginner to advanced level, with piecing and appliqué techniques.

It is also for the quilter who aims to improve their quilt design skills and gives you some tips and exercises.

ZEN CHIC INSPIRED will make me a better modern Quilter? Really?

That's a statement, which needs a proof, I would say! And I think you can judge yourself. But first, I have to tell you the behind-the-scenes story...

It all started with a party...

My new book and reference examples dropped in and that was a perfect time to invite all my quilt buddies who helped with sewing the tops for the book quilts. We celebrated, had champagne and strolled through the new copies, we giggled, laughed and had a really good time. I showed a bit about my design process, a kind of a slide show, which I had prepared for Quiltcon.

This is my design process,

the little slide show, which shows how I go from a room and a given scenario and find colors and design elements, which lead in the end to my final idea (enlarge it to full size to be able to read about the process):

And all of a sudden my buddy Christine had a brilliant idea:

She said: "Let's come up with a little challenge: We all start by a picture of a room. We all will have that same room as our resource. And then we will derive ideas out of this scenario. We will create a color palette, find design elements and sketch a quilt idea. We could even sew a little project. Wouldn't this be really fun to see in the end all the different results from just one inspiration."

Actually - why didn't I came up with such a brillant idea...(haha)

Of course, this would be totally awesome. I found a great interior picture the next day,

Photo von Houseology Interiors, flickr

I sent it out and the girls got started. This blog post series is about how everyone of them found her own perfect idea and you will be surprised and astonished as I was seeing, with what different ideas they came up.

The first quilt idea in the series

is from Karin Korff. Here are all her steps: She developed her color scheme, she found design elements and finally

Tataa - this is Karin's finished quilt top. What do you say?

The color scheme matches perfectly the room, where this quilt is designed for. The light and freshness of the room finds its equivalent in the mostly light background of the blocks. And the half circle is a reflection of all the rounded shapes she saw in the lamps. Right now the quilt top is a square, approximately lap-size. Karin says, she will add some more blocks to make it a twin-size bed-quilt for a friend.
I love it! And it is something she created just because of that photo, without any quilt pattern. Well done!

Thank you, Karin, for your contribution and your pictures!

What do you think?

Do you think the book, the philosophy and the idea to derive colors and design elements from a room was helpful for Karin's design process?

Here is what she says:

"Hat Spaß gemacht! Und macht Mut ! Außerdem bin ich jetzt bei Stoffkäufen vorsichtiger" means translated: "This was a lot of fun, and it was encouraging. And it made me more careful with my fabric choices".