Marcia Derse and Fall

There is something about fall that makes me gravitate to Marcia Derse fabrics. A few weeks ago I was in Sew Memphis for a visit and was talking with Mary Allison about christmas, inspiration and upcoming fabric lines. She asked if I could do a shop sample of the Kosmos quilt (free pattern here) using fabrics that would be a good fit for a Christmas kit. Together we chose Marcia Derse and a grey solid background.

Kosmos quilt using Marcia Derse fabric, before border was added

I LOVE how this came out. The stars just pop out of the background. The colors are so vibrant! The kit will be available this holiday season at Sew Memphis.

Of course I had to buy more Marcia Derse fabric with the intention of maybe designing a new bag pattern around the fabric, but when I got it home I knew I already had the perfect boho chic bag pattern for the fabric.

Koukla bag made from Macia Derse fabric

The Koukla Bag Pattern is perfect for Marcia Derse fabric! I love how this fabric changes the feel of the bag. All my samples before had used patchwork print fabric, but this gives it a more boho feel.

Happy Sewing!

Kosmos Baby quilt

Kosmos Baby quilt by Pannay Guigley, quilted by Teresa Pino

I wanted to share the pattern for this baby quilt, Kosmos with you. you can download it here using googledocs, or here on craftsy! It is a PDF file. Please do not copy and share, but redirect people to this website to download.

The story of Kosmos...

Sew, I have been writing patterns for a while and selling a few of my bag patterns on etsy and craftsy, but really would like to publish a few in magazines and such. I consider myself more of a sewing engineer. I love creating patterns because I love figuring out how things work and go together, kind of like a kid taking a toaster apart to try and make a robot.

I am still new to this, and write my patterns by taking pictures as I am putting things together. I have Illustrator and other programs, but still have questions for seasoned designers. When I sit down and try to design things on the computer, I get frustrated and just want to grab my sketchbook and some fabric to work it out. This has lead to a few missed opportunities for me. I want to share my ideas with others, but sometimes don't know how.

So, that brings us to the story of Kosmos. Last Spring I received some fabric from local designer and all round cool artist Jenean Morrison in hopes of showcasing her fabric in a pattern and getting that pattern published. I diligently submitted it as many places as I could. From this submission, I did write the article last month for Sew Mama Sew. But no one wanted the quilt pattern. In the world of submitting quilt patterns, it takes about 2 months for publishers to tell you yes or no. For websites, about 3 weeks. During this time, you are asked not to submit to anyone else. I have been submitting this pattern since the end of April. Now Jenean's new line for fall is set to launch, and I just got my last rejection email yesterday. I'm not too upset, I tried, and even though this wasn't published, I am working on many other things and will keep on submitting. In the meantime, I am trying my best to use Illustrator.

OK, I was a little down this morning. I really love this quilt. It's soft, cuddly, the fabric is so pretty, and my friend Teresa Pino at Quilts2aT did a fabulous job (give her some facebook love ya'll, she is amazing all around). Then I realized I blog. Not often, but I do. So what if I put this up as a free pattern? I love this quilt. There are three different star blocks which are different sizes to make it twinkle.

I love this quilt pattern, I hope you do too! If you do, please share your pictures on my facebook page, or tag #pannayg in the pic on instagram. 

Happy Sewing!