Otter Knitting Pattern

The latest little Jelly Bum has arrived and it's an adorable little otter pattern. This little guy looks like he gets up to lots of mischief! I've has a few followers request an otter for the range and finally this little guy popped into my head, I hope you like him. He is super quick to knit up and a great project for those looking to advance their knitting skills as it has small and simple pieces of intarsia within the face.
As always he's available from the website, Etsy and Ravelry.
I wanted to show you a glimpse of how I go about working out the shaping for my toys.

This is a printout my otter notes. I start with the basic shape I keep for all my patterns but adjust to  form into the desired animal along with intarsia charts. I use this to jot things down along with any other pattern related thoughts which pop into my head (you can see my doodling of how I wanted the nose/mouth area to look). The lines and dots are my workings for increasing and decreasing along the piece, however I think it looks a bit like some sort of alien code to an outsider!

I still have two more designs drafted and ready to go to schematic stage. Plus I also found a toy I had started to knit up ages ago (possibly a year or two) which I found tucked away with a bunch of 'back burner' projects. Now if I can find the notes and colour charts I created for it then that's another pattern I can get to working on.
I'm off for now but remember that if you knit up one of these little otters then share your pics because I always love to see them. I'll see you all soon for some updates
Raynor x

Triple Update

Hello all,
It's good to see you again, as usual i'm skulking in with my tail between my legs for being so lax about the blog. The notion took me this morning to read though all my old blog posts and it brings back some great memories of starting up my little knitting patterns. I wanted to let you know that i'm back to creating patterns again and have three in the sketching stage so i can get an idea of how the finished toy will look. Over the next few days (well when Christmas settles down) i'll be picking up the needles to create them.  I'm a bit undecided on wheter i should release them altogether or spread them out over a few weeks, let me know if you would have a preference.
For the past few months I've been working away on a new project of sewing pattern for my new Etsy shop Elf Pop, I have loads of doll patterns available and have started on an animal toy patterns too. So if you sew then check it out and if you don't then the little cuties are a great way to learn.
I'm going to be a busy bunny over the next few months but remember to keep me posted on what you make with the Jelly Bums because you know I love to see your finished works.

source

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and a very happy start to 2013 and i'll see you all back with those new patterns.
Love Raynor x

Skunk Knitting Pattern

Introducing our June 2012 pattern, a stinky little skunk. As usual he is available from the website, etsy store and as instant ravelry download.
My apologies for it being nearer the end of the month to release this pattern. I've been really busy working on my new line of sewing patterns. I hummed and ahhed about whether I should make them a new line of Jelly Bums, however I decided it might get a bit too cluttered in my etsy shop and website. So my sewing pattern range is known as Elf Pop which you can find on my website and new etsy shop. I currently only have one dog pattern available but I will be working hard over the next few months to get a good range going. Similar to Jelly Bums I want to have lots of animal pattern with dress ups, however I will probably introduce a doll range too. Don't worry I'm sticking to my promise to bring out at least one Jelly Bum Knitting pattern a month.
I hope you enjoy this months little edition, and as always if you knit one up then let me see.
Raynor x

Jelly Bum Donkey

Hello everybody, you may have noticed that I am posting a lot more on this little blog. Well as some of you know I was on maternity leave after having our little boy, Flynn, in August last year. I was due to return to uni this June, however due to family circumstances we decided it would be best if I took another year out and then returned in 2013. It feels like a huge weight off my shoulders and also seems to have magically allowed me to start creating again as I have so much more time on my hands.
In the last post i mentioned that there was to be an update to the pattern schedule. Well i have decided to commit myself to releasing one Jelly Bum pattern every month. Not only will this allow me to make patterns of all the animals which have been requested over the years but will help me reach my original goal of releasing 50 patterns and hopefully more!
So for the May 2012 pattern I've been working on this little guys over the past few weeks, a sweet little donkey, hee haw! As usual he is available from Etsy or the website. Let me know what you think and remember if you knit him I want to see so remember and upload the flickr, ravelry, Facebook or just send me an email.
Happy knitting
Raynor x

Ravelry Update

Just a quick update to let all you Ravellers out there that all of the Jelly Bum Patterns are available for instant download on Ravelry. At the moment it is only available for single pattern purchases or multiple pattern without the pattern deals added. I have tried adding promotions to allow a discount once more than one pattern is purchased however the checkout is not able to override the other deal promotions.

Just before I go I wanted to post a picture which was uploaded to the Facebook page from a lovely knitter called Catherine. Isn't this little mobile adorable. I love how creative you guys are with the patterns and this is why I love seeing pictures of finished toys.
Keep tuned later in the week for an update on a  new pattern schedule.
Raynor x

Sew sketchy

Those of you who are fans on Facebook will see that yesterday I posted about receiving my new sewing machine yesterday. I haven't sewn for a long time since I haven't really had the space to keep a sewing machine, however I really wanted to start making some sewing patterns so I decided just to go ahead and buy one. I'm sure my husband wont mind giving up some wardrobe room for fabrics or listening to the humming of the machine whilst watching his favourite programmes!  I'm currently waiting on a delivery of fabric for creating prototypes so in the meantime I'm sketching franticly as you can see from the rubbish picture above (apologies as it was taken on my phone). Today I'll mostly be working with little cloth scraps and making draft prototypes before I get my hands on some 'proper' fabric. Oh I'm so excited I really can't wait to get some pattern available, I feel like this has jump started the inspiration station in my brain again.
Watch this space.....
Raynor

Pattern mashup = Dragon

Hey all,
I've been meaning to write this post for a while as the original photo was posted on Ravelry way back in January. I want to introduce you to Martin.

© flyingpigknits on Ravelry

© flyingpigknits on Ravelry

© flyingpigknits on Ravelry

I practically sqweed (I'm not actually too sure how to spell the particular noise I made but you get the picture!) when i seen this little guy. So thanks to Dagny (flyingpigknits on Ravelry) who made this little guy, for giving me permission to pass on her fab idea to you all. Martin is made from the latest Jelly Bums crocodile pattern with the spike from the free Jelly Bum dino suit added to his back, making him into an adorable little dragon. This is why i love seeing what other people make from my patterns as you guys add your own twists and mods so that you can come up with a whole new look to a toy and make some really unique little toys. So please if you knit one of these little guys post some photos to the Facebook page, Ravelry or Flickr, I'd love to see your very own little dragons.

Also just to keep you up to date with how things are going with patterns, i'm currently working on one, have got a bit through it but still trowing ideas at it to see what looks best without making the pattern too fiddly or complicated for beginners or those wanting a quick knit.

I also wanted to ask you guys opinion on a new line of Jelly Bum sewing patterns? I haven't sewn in a long time and in fact don't even own a sewing machine. Recently I've been thinking about getting one to teach my girls how to sew as I feel its one of the skills a lot of children have lost in recent years. This got me thinking about a new range of patterns, and I'd love to hear your opinion even if it's just to say that you would dust off that old singer and get back into sewing yourself.

Raynor x