Vintage Caravan Applique Pattern

Just in time for the Easter weekend, here is my second applique picture pattern!

This lovely Vintage Caravan Applique is one of my favourite applique designs. It gives you so much scope to play with lovely fabrics. You can go for bright bold colours and prints or go pastel and retro.

The picture has lots of happy little details, including bunting, flowers and clothes on the washing line that are perfect for using tiny, pretty scraps of fabric and lend themselves well to a spot of fussy cutting and fun stitched detail. There's even a tiny Twirly Bird on the caravan roof!

If you're new to free-machine embroidery you can watch a short video on setting up your machine in my blog post for my first pattern here Beach Huts Applique Picture

I've also made a video showing me sewing this picture which you can watch below:

You don't just have to use this pattern for free-machine embroidery - you can sew it using straight stitch on your sewing machine, use it as a hand embroidery design either with or without applique, use it to make a paper collage using pretty patterned papers or even just print out the pattern picture for yourself or your children to colour in!

How to get the pattern:

For now I've decided to make this pattern available as a PDF that you can download direct as a link on this blog post rather than put it into Etsy. 

It's been a tough year already for my business and I know only too well that times are tough for many people and their finances right now so I have taken the decision to operate a Pay What You Can system for this pattern.

There is a Paypal button at the bottom of this blog post for those who are able to support my work with a donation to enable me to carry on producing new patterns for you to enjoy. You choose what you can afford to pay.

However, I don't wish to exclude anyone and therefore if you can't pay anything right now please download a copy of the pattern for free with my blessing and enjoy some relaxing creative time.

I'd love to see any pictures that you make using this pattern so, if you're on Instagram please add the hashtag #mrsmoogpatterns to any pictures that you post!

You can download your copy of the PDF pattern here - Vintage Caravan Applique Pattern PDF

and here's my Paypal button if you wish to donate (or use moogsmum at gmail dot com (written in full to stop robots and stuff))

If you have any questions about the pattern please leave a comment on this post or you can contact me by DM on Instagram @mrs_moog 

Have fun and happy sewing!!

Beach Huts Applique Pattern

I've wanted to develop some patterns of my applique designs for a very long time but have never quite got round to it...until now!

This Beach Huts pattern is my very first to be released as a PDF pattern that you can download straight away and there will be more designs coming very soon. 

This A4 size fabric picture can be used to make a framed picture, a mini quilt or as a panel on a beach bag or cushion!

It's a great project for using up tiny fabric scraps and is designed to use materials that many crafty folk may already have to hand or that can be bought online. 

This pattern has been designed and made using free-machine embroidery to stitch the appliques in place. It's a really fun technique that can be done on any sewing machine and I have made a short YouTube video explaining how to set your sewing machine up and how to start - with an emphasis on play and practice to help you learn to love this technique as much as I do!

If you don't want to try free-machine embroidery (why wouldn't you?) I give tips in the pattern for another way to sew the design. If you don't want to use a sewing machine at all you can use the pattern picture as a design for a hand embroidery project or a paper collage but that's not all - the pattern picture is ideal to print out as a colouring picture for you or your children too!

I've also made a YouTube video that shows me stitching the picture, complete with waffly commentary and plenty of "ums". It was filmed on my phone and is completely unedited so don't expect anything slick but you can see it here.

How to get the pattern:

For now I've decided to make this pattern available as a PDF that you can download direct as a link on this blog post rather than put it into Etsy. 

It's been a tough year already for my business and I know only too well that times are tough for many people and their finances right now so I have taken the decision to operate a Pay What You Can system for this pattern.

There is a Paypal button at the bottom of this blog post for those who are able to support my work with a donation to enable me to carry on producing new patterns for you to enjoy. You choose what you can afford to pay.

However, I don't wish to exclude anyone and therefore if you can't pay anything right now please download a copy of the pattern for free with my blessing and enjoy some relaxing creative time.

I'd love to see any pictures that you make using this pattern so, if you're on Instagram please add the hashtag #mrsmoogpatterns to any pictures that you post!

So without further ado here is the link to get your own copy of the pattern Mrs Moogs Beach Huts 

and here's my Paypal button

Have fun with it and if you have any questions you can leave them in the comments on this post or message me on Instagram @mrs_moog

Happy stitching!!!xxx

Spring Sale!

I've decided to ignore the decidedly wintery weather we've been having this week and am celebrating this beautiful season with a Spring Sale in my Etsy Shop!

Enter code: Spring20 at the checkout for 20% off anything in my shop!

Happy Weekend!

love Moogs xxx

I's a Rollercoaster: the Ups and the Downs of a new craft business

Just a few weeks ago, after a moment of success at my first craft fair, everything went quiet. 

Deathly quiet.

I had no more new orders. Great responses on social media were not leading to sales. My Etsy shop had wind whistling through the shelves. Cash flow was becoming an all out no in thing.

I had a huge pity party, feeling very sorry for myself and wondering if I should just go and get a job at the local Co-op.

Then, quite out of the blue I opened a link on Facebook, which I think came from my friend Sarah's Dottery Pottery page. That link was to a local group called Hidden Talents Craft Fayres, run by two local crafters - Nicky and Clare, who set up the group to promote the work of local makers, including themselves, after finding there was a definite need for good quality, well-run fairs in the local area.

I joined the group and immediately felt at home. I also immediately booked a table at their next craft fair on 25th July. This group is quite possibly the best thing to have happened to me so far with my business. The other makers are so wonderfully supportive and positive. Their work is beautiful - to the extent where I wonder if I'll manage to get away from the fair without spending any money I may make!

One direct result of joining the group was me being contacted by a lady who fund raises for Labrador Rescue and an order for Labradors on All The Things!

Another new development has been my phone covers. 

Ages ago a dear friend of mine suggested I make phone covers and I kind of consigned it to the back burner while I thought it out. It took a while but I got there in the end and of course, could not just stop at one! These have already become a great seller and I wonder why it took me so long!

I now have two weeks left until my first big craft fair and am ticking things off my list on a daily basis. 

I can honestly say I haven't worked so hard or been so absorbed in my work for years and I'm loving every single minute of it. I know there are bound to be dips as well as peaks because that is the nature of the beast but at last I feel like I'm headed in the right direction.

Happy weekend one and all,

Moogs xxx

p.s. if you wonder what I'm up to between blog posts take a look at the links in my sidebar - I'm constantly on Instagram, regularly on Facebook and Pinterest and am trying (!) to get to grips with Twitter.

Hello Blog

My poor blog.

I've been thinking about you a great deal since the last time I blogged but it's taken me until now to come back and actually make contact again.

Since being at home, taking steps to set up my business, time seems to have grown wings and although I'm constantly on Instagram, regularly on Facebook and even occasionally on Twitter, there never seems to be quite the right moment to sit down and write a blog post.

Somehow it feels like it needs to be more involved, more time consuming and to have more structure and quite frankly, it even feels a bit indulgent. So, whilst thinking about this I realised it doesn't necessarily have to be all those things.

It can be just like Instagram (which I LOVE) but just a bit more and I don't need to plan a great big essay with lots of meaningful content. It's my little record of life and my creative process.

I'm going to start with just a few photos of preparations for my first proper craft fair, which I did this past weekend.

A recent holiday in beautiful Pembrokeshire inspired some little applique and free-machine embroidery pictures of those beautiful Welsh cottages, two of which sold at the fair. I have lots more of these in my head needing to get out and several more awaiting frames.

I can't stop making little fabric brooches - they seem to have become a bit of a thing for me and I love making them. I have dozens of them! Now I just need to sell them.

Taking Janet Clare's advice I decided I needed one of her Artisan Aprons to wear to the craft fair and had great fun making it and then adding some embellishments to make it mine. It was much admired by visitors and other stall holders and it did feel right to be wearing a 'uniform' of sorts.

A trial run at home was an incredibly useful exercise as it took away a lot of stress on the day, even though the table at the fair turned out to be smaller than expected. All in all it was a successful first fair, with lovely people and I sold enough to cover my costs and give the children their overdue pocket money!

My head and all six of my notebooks are full of ideas for things I want to make. The making is fun and it's the easy bit. It's the getting out there and selling that seems to be the hardest part but then I think that's true for anyone trying to start a creative business.

I've never been a natural salesperson (which proved interesting in a former job as a sales rep!) but it's a skill I now need to develop, alongside becoming organised with paperwork....*cough*.

Happy weekend one and all,

Moogs xxx

Looking forward

Well, here were are in January and I'm finally getting round to blogging again. We had a lovely Christmas, with Mr Moog and the teenagers at home for a full two weeks. We caught up with lots of family and friends and all of a sudden my lot were back at school and work and it's nearly halfway through the month!

The in-laws were thrilled with their Christmas quilts and they came in very handy as both of them were poorly with colds over the holiday. Father-in-law slept under his shirty quilt on their sofa for three nights, bless him :)

I seem to have been on a bit of a go slow getting back into my work but I'm now back in the swing of things and am busy working on some orders. This little lot of free-machine applique filled a very happy afternoon and is soon to be turned into zipped wash-bags, lavender bags, and the little dogs are to be framed pictures.

One of my good customers asked me to make her a penguin embroidery. I ended up doing these five, as I struggled to get one that I liked. My customer loved them and ended up having all five! There were five more that looked even more weird and demented and they've gone over to the States as Kristi at Schnitzel & Boo fell in love with them!

I'm also taking part in the Schnitzel & Boo mini-quilt swap on Instagram and this is my little offering for my swap partner. To be in the mail in the next few days. It's my second attempt at foundation paper piecing and is far from perfect but I loved making it.

I'm beginning to feel like I'm going in the right direction with my little business. Once I'm through this batch of orders I'm going to be working on some samples to take into a local shop whose owner is interested in seeing my work and I have a thousand and one other ideas that I want to develop.

The admin side isn't proving to be my strength (!) but I'm getting there. I've now got a Moogsmum page on Facebook so do pop over and say hi if you do the Facebook thing :)

I've also had a 'business meeting' with my good friend Sarah today. Sarah is a brilliant ceramic artist who I first met at toddler group 15 years ago! She's now working full time on her business and posted a Folksy update on Facebook this week - I just couldn't help myself when I saw this gorgeous little pin cushion.

It feels so good to finally be doing what I love and I'm looking forward to a busy and creative 2015. I can hardly believe the change that I've gone through this last few months and all the tears and anxiety seem like a dim and distant memory. Here's to a great new year!

love Moogs xxx

Open Studio!!

As usual time seems to fly by and I suddenly find it's ages between blog posts. However, right now that is a very good thing indeed as it means I've been far too busy with my new business!

My little brooches flew off the shelves in my Etsy shop and even led to some additional orders - thank you so much everyone who bought them, I really cannot tell you just how much I appreciate it :)

I've been sewing like mad, getting ready for this coming Sunday when I'm taking the plunge and hosting a Christmas Open Studio here at home...in my 'studio' (kitchen/dining room!). Amidst all that sewing I also made up another big order of floral wash-bags.

My dear little sewing machine has worked her socks off and performed miracles. I've told her she can have a bit of a break after this weekend but then forgot I have a quick quilt to make for Christmas!

So, here's a taster of my sewing for my Open Studio..

Loads of bags, purses, brooches and key-fobs.

An army of Dammit Dolls - made from my old Recycle for Hampshire work shirts - delicious irony ;), with some little Red Robin Christmas Scented Sachets, made with fabric I had printed up months ago by Spoonflower, from a little sketch of mine.

A trio of patchwork cushions made with gorgeous Janet Clare fabric.

A quartet of fabric covered notebooks.

Four tiny framed embroideries...from a grand total of 19 - and this doesn't include the three that sold within a few minutes of me posting them on Instagram :)

I think it's fair to say I'm enjoying getting my little business up and running! I don't think I've ever been happier and am so excited to see where it takes me.

Finally, to welcome my Open Studio visitors I decided I needed a new wreath for my front door. Made in the same way as my previous one, using carrier bags taped together (yes, really!), it cost me nothing but time - the cotton reels were a very happy freebie when I bought an old sewing machine years ago and they'd been waiting in the loft for just the right thing  -and the denim was from a very torn pair of Minx's jeans.

So, now I just have to scrub my home and tidy like mad, bake a mountain of mince pies and make a gallon of mulled wine and hide all the usual rubbish that clutters up the corners....and hope that someone comes!

Moogs xxx

We're in business!

Thank you all so much for your kind messages of support after my last blog post, especially those of you who had gone through a similar experience. You truly helped and I love you for it :)

It's been a very busy few weeks here. 

I've been settling in to being at home and quite honestly I have loved every single minute of it. It feels so right to be at home sewing, designing, making and forming plans - lots of plans that are getting me to where I have wanted to be for so long.

Today has been a very useful day. While the teenagers carved their Hallowe'en pumpkins, with no motherly interference, I dusted off my Etsy shop and refilled it for the first time in several years!

I'm starting things off with a batch of little fabric brooches that I couldn't stop making last week!

 I still have a few to finish off and post in the shop, so it will be a gradual restock.

I'm planning to make lots more of the brooches as they are so much fun to make and my head is full of ideas for new designs.

After years of trying and failing, I finally seem to have got to grips with free-machine embroidery. Give me a pencil and a piece of paper to draw with and I flounder but I absolutely love sketching with the sewing machine.

I've completed an order for 30 scented Christmas sachets for Enchanted Plants, filled with dried cinnamon, cloves and star anise - they smell incredible and my whole house was smelling very festive for a few days.

To go with the Christmas sachets were 30 free-machine embroidered lavender bags, filled with wonderful dried lavender from a local lavender farm. 

There will be some of these and the Christmas ones going into the shop very soon. 

The tiny twirly-bird brooches gave rise to an overwhelming urge to upsize the birds, which were given the classy moniker of Fat-Arse Twirly-Tailed Colourful Birds by my dear friend and head cheerleader Trashy. A few of these are in the pipeline too.

I've got a list as long as my arm of all the things I want to make and am getting so much brilliant feedback and support from friends on Instagram, Facebook and in real life. It feels like I can really do this and I'm so excited to be going for it at last.

Please forgive me if I plug my makes and my shop on here for a while. I promise I'll still do the normal stuff too :)

I'll be back on Monday when I'm taking part in my first bloghop.

I hope you have a thoroughly spooky Hallowe'en, if that's the way you like it!

love Moogs xxx