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!

Recovery

I do have a really cool project to share, but first a little update. Surgery to remove the Melanoma was June 5. They biopsied a few lymph nodes and all was clear, so I am officially cancer free and just recovering from the surgery. It was on my left hand, which is my dominate hand, so I have not been able to sew or do much these past few weeks. Even now I am pecking this out awkwardly with my right index finger. I am relieved and grateful. Luckily, my Aunt is also a skin cancer survivor and has been visiting us to help! It has been awesome having someone to talk to who has been where I am. Plus the kids are having a blast!

Since I can't sew right now, here is a quick scrap project that will also protect your skin from the sun!

Let's make a pretty sun hat! First, check out your local shops for an inexpensive sunhat. I found this one for about $5 at Walmart.

It's pretty, plain and has sparkles! Next, get a bunch of your scraps. For the flower on the hat use the tutorial here. Then cut three strips 1 1/2 inches wide by width of fabric. The length needed will depend on if you do a tight or loose braid. I used about 26 inches to do mine, its tighter but not super tight.

Sew the strips at the top, making sure they all face the same direction.

Then fold the strips to make tubes with the pretty side of the fabric facing out and start braiding. This is so the design on the fabric shows! I tape the top down to the table to keep it steady while I braid.

Then break out the hot glue gun! Start by gluing the sewn end down, then slowly and gently glue the braid around the hat. When you reach the beginning again, cut about  1/2 inch over, glue all three strips together so they won't start to come undone, then gently place over the start point.

I place the flower over the raw spot to cover and presto! Now my sunhat went from plain to pretty!

Sew sweet and sew easy! Don't forget to protect your skin from the sun!

Free Flower Tutorial

A few years ago I was introduced to Kanzashi, or Japanese fabric flowers. Of course, from there I had to try my hands at every way of making a fabric flower that is out there. After starting to teach sewing to children, I modified what I learned and came up with an easy peasy way of making pretty flowers that was fun for adults but easy enough for children!

I have had a lot of fun making these from my scraps over the years, and these are no different! All of them feature the scraps from Jenean Morrison's Lovelorn collection on FreeSpirit Fabrics. I love how fabrics can look so different depending on the project. The small scale of the flowers paired with vintage buttons give them a totally different vibe than when they are used in purses and quilts!

Miss K modeling her fabulous hairflower!

You can find the Free Flower Tutorial here. On the last page is a pattern piece, which makes it easier for everyone, especially little ones, to cut out. I make these often for teacher gifts, and the girls will often search out vintage buttons just to use in flowers!

Happy Sewing!

Mama's got a Brand New Bag!

OK, so when I create a pattern I usually end up making a few. I never design a pattern I am not going to use, so yes, my new purse is a Midtown. The beautiful pink one was made for someone else, but I could not get that fabric out of my head, so I ended up finding the citrus colorway on fabric.com and making this sweet one for summer for me!

I am a fabric fanatic. I will admit to being a fabricaholic. I get really excited when new fabric lines launch, and follow the blogs of my favorite designers and those that sew for them. I have favorite lines of fabric I keep fatquarters of for years because I know you can't buy them in a store anymore and I want to keep a piece just in case. 

This season, I am totally in love with Jenean Morrison's Lovelorn. Check it out at the link. She is a designer with FreeSpirit Fabrics (of course, they carry most of my favorites, Joel Dewberry, Denyse Schmidt and Anna Maria Horner among them). I have made a few things already using this collection, including the bag featured in The Midtown pattern photos. This is one of the few fabric collections I love every colorway equally! It was really hard for me to decide which colorway to use for my personal bag, and after receiving a gift certificate for Fabric.com which is carrying the whole collection, I settled on orange for summer. 

As a fabric line, this has everything a sewist desires. There are beautiful large prints that lend themselves to home dec, clothing and big bags. There is a small ovals print that reads as a solid for quilting. There is a fun modern floral, there are 2 small prints for balance and this great arch print that adds movement to any project. The variety of scale, bold use of colors, and graphic nature of this collection make it the need to have collection for all your projects this season! 

While the orange and pink colorway are exciting and happy, the blue colorway keeps things cool and subdued, which is why I chose it for a baby boy quilt. 

One of the blocks

Close up of the ovals used as background, the hexies used as a border, and the large scale paisley as binding. Longarm services provided by Quilts2aT Studio. 

Toddler Time made from the pink color way. I know I put the arches with the floral together on each bag so far, but I love the look!

Sew, what is your favorite fabric line this season?

Happy Sewing!

The Midtown

It's here! My new PDF pattern is available on etsy and craftsy as a downloadable PDF file! This sample bag was made using Jenean Morrison's new fabric line Lovelorn. I am so in love with this collection!

The Midtown was inspired by working in Memphis Midtown at Sew Memphis, and just getting to hang out and shop. My little man is now potty trained, and after spending what feels like an eternity carrying large bags filled with diapers and pull ups and extra clothes and enough snacks to be stranded in Death Valley and not starve or dehydrate, I find myself in a position to just carry what I need, my wallet, my phone, sunglasses and a few small items. I also like to have my hands free, since little man is still 3 and sometimes likes to be chased! So here is my life right now. It's cute, it's hip, its a nice sized crossbody with a zippered pocket front and an open pocket in the back.

The inside boasts pockets along the back side and the two zippers are super easy to install!

It is with a heavy heart I give up my "baby bag" days, knowing that he is our last baby. This style of bag is one I would have loved in my 20s, and have found a new appreciation for it in my 40s!

The above sample actually was for Jenean, it was just sew pretty I had to use it for all the pictures in the pattern!  I can't wait to see what others do with this pattern! I have already made one for myself, of course I used my stash of Star Trek fabric.

So if you see this bag in midtown Memphis, stop and say hi!