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

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

Jelly Bum Crocodile

 
Well hello there, long time no see! Ok so I've been very lax with the upkeep of the blog for the past while now. Its due to a huge combination of things such as juggling studying, work placements, family life, pregnancy etc etc etc. However I also wanted to confess that I've just been stuck in a bit of creative rut or somewhat of a 'designers block' for some time now. Perhaps it's just because I have a million other things to deal with in the day and then when it comes the time to get a half hour here or there to knit my brain is just frazzled. I've been finding it hard to get inspiration to pick up the needles and create, and then when I do I just end up frogging it because the finished item isn't turning out how I want it to, oh the joys of being a Virgo perfectionist eh? Anyhoo last week I got a little light bulb moment and took the bull by the horns and started to knit. Out of nowhere popped this little guy, a cheeky little crocodile. He will be the 30th Jelly Bum animal to join the crew. Can you believe it there are 30 animal patterns, it seems crazy to have that many available now. As usual he is available from my website and etsy store. By the way if you were wondering what the difference between a crocodile and an alligator, apparently alligators are only found in south USA and whereas crocs are found worldwide, plus a crocs teeth will always show when its mouth is closed whereas an alligators teeth are hidden.You learn something new everyday huh? (Can you tell I googled it? haha).

Jelly Bum Squirrel

First of all I want to thank you all for being so patient with me during my huge absence from posting. I have been around juts lurking in the background really as I've not had much time over the last few months only to send patterns and answer my emails. I hadn't lost the knitting bug just that i barely had any time to dedicate to my family etc with all my uni stuff going on and so something had to give. I came of on holiday juts before Christmas and picked up my needles as soon as. It felt like being reacquainted with a long lost friend!

So now that i have a little time to myself I've been creating again and this time I get to announce the arrival of the Jelly Bum Squirrel. Naturally with me being a redhead he had to be a red squirrel. Adorable as ever I really enjoyed knitting him up since he was my first project in as many months. So if you want to knit him up as always he is available from my Etsy shop and website.

In other knitting news I have went and purchased a little drop spindle, and some nice Shetland tops. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then I'm planning to start hand spinning some yarn for myself. The whole reason behind this was that I'm starting up a new little venture called Little Hobos. These will be little toys knit by myself in my own hand spun wool. You never know I might even give dyeing the wool a bash as well. So if you would like to keep updated with that new venture you can follow my progress at http://www.littlehobos.blogspot.com/.

OK I'm off for now, I'm still knitting away so please check back for any updates and I'll see you all on the other side in 2010!

Happy new year all

Raynor x

Jelly Bums Goat

Hey all, dropping by today to show you the latest Jelly Bum member, a little billy goat. I had been meaning to make this pattern for ages because a lady by the name of Leslie had requested a goat ages ago as her sister has a sweet little Goat named Lexie. Also another great lady, Margaret had requested one to help her sister demonstrate 'The three Billy Goats Gruff' Story for the kids at her school. So I got the needles out and this little guy hopped off the end of them! I'm not sure if you can make it out in the photo but he has a fluffy little beard. I just love how grumpy he looks, it really gives him character.

When I'm creating the animal I like to look at lots of different pictures of them as research to how I want the finished toy to look. I never realised there was so many different types of goats with distinctive looks, so it was back to the drawing board and imaging how I remember them from my childhood, so I hope you all like him.

Also just wanted to make a quick little note about the clothes patterns. I've been wanting to make more pattern but I don't just want to do a dress or a t-shirt etc I would like to make them little themes so that people can pick and choose clothes to individualise their toys. It means I'll take longer to get the pattern out but also that there will be a few bits of clothing at a time. So hope you can bear with me whilst I brainstorm for a while over the themes.

In non-knitting news, what a glorious week its been here. The sun is shining brightly which is a rarity in Scotland so we've been on plenty of long walks with the girls to make the most of it. We're still house hunting at the moment, it's getting really daunting as time is drawing closer for me going to university, so fingers crossed something will crop up soon.

Ok as always I'll be back soon with any Jelly updates

♥Raynor

Jelly Bums Beaver

Hey all just popping in to introduce the latest Jelly Bum animal, don't you just love that little buck tooth? As with all the other patterns he is available to buy on his own or as part of any of the pattern deals. Can you believe that's the 20th Jelly Bum pattern already, it seems like so many now, but I've still got a big list to get through so I'm not hanging up my needles just yet!
I apologise for my lack of blogging lately, I seem to be trying to have my finger in to many knitting pies. I've been working on a little pattern for The Knitted Toy box, and also trying to clear out a lot of the knitted toys I've had stored away in a box for ages, hopefully I'll be able to find them a home where they will get lots of love and hugs.
I've also been looking into lots of ideas for more free clothes patterns for the toys, but can't seem to make up my mind on something yet. I was thinking perhaps a ballerina outfit or a superhero outfit, but I'm still researching lots of ideas so if anyone has any suggestions of what they would like to see please feel free to leave a comment, as I'd love your feedback.
Ok I'm off just now but promise I'll be back soon with any updates.
♥ Raynor

Jelly Bums Moose

 
There's a moose loose aboot the hoose!

Hey all, I'm back to introduce the latest addition to the Jelly Bums an adorable moose. He's been available to purchase since Tuesday however blogger has been playing up and I've been unable to post about him. His horns were a bit of a nightmare to design, but I got there in the end and I love the way they turned out, plus its always great to have a design challenge with a pattern, it makes the whole process more exciting.

Nothing much to report from this side of the pond as I'm pretty under the weather with some sort of virus as the moment so not feeling to great. However I'm not going to let that get me down as I really want to get cracking with some more patterns as I've got a lot of ideas running through my head at the moment, so I can't wait to get them down on paper (or should that be computer?).

The next pattern will be the 20th pattern still can't believe how quickly it seems to have gone and doesn't feel that long ago that I was creating the very first little doggy pattern. The only problem now is deciding what animal to design next!

Raynor x

Jelly Bums Raccoon

Hi everyone, I've bounded on hear very excited today to show the latest Jelly Bum pattern. I think to date this must be the finished I adore the most out of them all, although I'm torn between him and the lion.
This little fellow was inspired by my (almost!) 2 year old daughter. A few weeks ago she started to go through a peculiar phase when eating her meals. She would often take her juice beaker and start pouring it all over her food and then eating it, especially with things like bread. It reminded me of a nature program I had seen on raccoons who also carry out this 'dousing' behaviour with their food. So I started to call her a little raccoon and though I should whip up a little pattern in honour of her animalistic ways!

I've had a pretty rough week as I've developed some sort of cold and chest infection combo, leaving me feeling extremely tired, however I really need to start getting a move on with making more patterns.
I think I may have mentioned it a few posts back about wanting to go back to university to become a midwife, and after a long long 7 month wait I eventually got word of an interview for 23rd February. So hopefully if everything goes according to plan then I'll be back at university by September. So I'm hoping to reach my target of 50 patterns by September otherwise the time frame in which they will be released will slow considerably. I'll take it month by month but I'm hoping to make real progress.
Just thought I would mention that if I am returning to university then I will still be selling the patterns and I will still be around to answer all your questions and queries.
As usual I'll be back hopefully within the week to show of the latest pattern.
Happy knitting everyone
♥ Raynor

Jelly Bums Tiger

 
Hello everyone, just popping in to debut the newest Jelly Bum member, he's a cute little tiger.

After many attempts to get his stripes right I eventually managed to get them just how I pictured. He's now available to buy as a single pattern and in any of the pattern deals.

Thank you all for your kind emails congratulating me on my first Etsy year, your words mean so much and to know that when I write these little messages that I'm not just talking to myself in cyber space.

I've seen a few new pictures of the new leg patterns on Ravelry and the Jelly Bum Flickr group, and they look fantastic, so I'm glad you all like them. So remember if your knitting them, take photos and pop them on the Flickr group so I can see what everyone's creating.

I just realised the last few days that I'm slowing sown a lot more with the pattern creating again so it's all system go here. Tomorrow I'll be back on the ball getting started with the next pattern, I'm still in the process of perfecting the design. This time the pattern will be a little bit more unusual as there are very few patterns out there for this animal, so pop back soon to see what the needles have been stitching.

♥ Raynor

Jelly Bums Fox

Here is the newest little member of the Jelly Bum posse and the pattern is now available from my blog and Etsy shops. I love his colour, but the original yarn colour doesn't show too well in the photo. I must have a natural affinity to foxes as I'm a redhead too.

I'm getting really frustrated with taking photos for the animals as they are often finished and waiting to be photographed, but I'm having to wait until certain times of day to get the perfect lighting, I really need to find a good light box kit.

Right, enough of my moaning! One thing that has made me a very happy bunny is the fact that Julie Williams from Little Cotton Rabbits has linked to here from her blog. Julie is an amazingly talented knitter with a huge following plus she has fantastic writing skills, the combination makes her blog so lovable. It's an great honour to be mentioned on the blog so I wanted to say a huge thank you to Julie. If you haven't ventured over to see her amazing little bunnies (amongst other animals and cupcakes) then take a peek, you'll be sure to get hooked on her latest cotton creations. Also a big hello to anyone who arrived here from the little cotton rabbits site, I'm glad you came.
I've already started another new pattern which was requested from one of my Etsy customers, and I really needed to start it while I still had the design in my head. It should be available by next week, so keep your peepers open for any updates.
♥ Raynor

Jelly Bums Rabbit

This is the first Jelly Bum pattern of 2009, a cute little bunny rabbit. Very easy to knit up, he was requested by a few of my customers so that they could knit up a storm before Easter time. I'm glad it's not just me who barely gets one holiday season out of the way but is starting up their knitting projects for the next! So if you knit him up you can hide all you Cadburys cream eggs under the tea cosy body and he'll keep them safe for you.

Each time I knit an animal I always like to imagine what people would use them for. Some of my customers have used them for all different things such as animated stories and even shamanic work. The safari animals are always a popular choice to knit up for kids nursery rooms. I love knowing how people use the patterns, so if you've knit up one (or more) of my patterns send, add your pictures of you work to the Jelly Bums Flickr group, I'd love to see the secret lives of the Jelly Bums.

I'm going to get started on the next pattern tomorrow, as I want to make up for lost time over the holiday season and get cracking on that target of 50 animals.

So check back soon to see what my needles have been creating.

♥ Raynor

Jelly Bums Hippo

Sorry to those who have been patiently waiting to find out what the newest animal is, I've been having trouble trying to log in to my blogger account so the pattern has been available for a few days now. SoIi present to you the Jelly Bum hippo

 
This little fellow was in demand as I had a few requests to make him. He gave me a great opportunity to try out double stranded knitting as the grey yarn I used was really thin so I doubled it up (Note to self: do not send hubby yarn shopping again). The method was a lot easier to do than I originally thought so I'd defiantly do it again.
I'm already started on making the latest pattern as I'm hoping to have 2 more animal patterns out by Christmas time, so finger crossed I don't get too distracted by the holiday season.
It's getting so much more difficult to photograph my toys in the natural light these days as the winter weather draws ever closer. We even had a blast on snow here on Sunday so it was really dark and chilly, so we have to wrap up warm every time we are out and about. looks like it's going to be a really cold winter in Scotland this year, i just wish I knew how to knit gloves and beautiful cowls, although a girl can dream by window shopping on Etsy!
Take care
♥ Raynor

Jelly Bums Sheep

Ok ok I confess I've been procrastinating again this week! However I have not been slacking and as promised I've eventually finished the pattern with my fuzzy wuzzy yarn. So here is a new little sheep pattern for you all.



 
The yarn used was sirdar snuggly snowflake, and it was perfect for creating a fleecy fur look. Although it was the first time I have ever worked with novelty yarn and it was strange but in a learning curve sort of way.
The finished toy reminds me of a Lamb toy my dad bought in Amsterdam when I was small. We affectionately named him Lambsy and he had a 'baa-er'* inside him. Lambsy was the star of many of a nativity shows at our primary school. He is still round today looking a bit scruffy and weary after one too many rough play times from my siblings and now our children. Sadly now his baa no longer works but he always leaves me feeling sweetly nostalgic.
I'm now planning to get started on a particular animal which I've had a few requests for since I've started creating the animal patterns. I promise I'll get it out as soon as possible as I know a few people are knitting furiously to pop a few little critters into their loved one's Xmas stocking this year (yes it is that time of year already!).
Happy Knitting
♥ Raynor


* A 'baa-er' is my own made up word used to describe the device inside Lambsy which made him 'baa' when rocked backwards, similar to a teddy bear 'growler'.

Jelly Bums Penguin

Hey all I hope your all having a lovely start to your week. As promised I have another new pattern, this time its for a sweet little penguin.
 
This little sweetheart is the first bird to be added to the Jelly Bum collection. I think he's rather adorable and reminds me of pingu. He's the perfect little toy to knit up for the up and coming winter months.
As usual I'm going to get started on the next pattern either tonight or tomorrow, and it means I'm going to get using my new snowflake yarn, so if you know what this yarn looks like you might already have a little hint as to what animal is coming next, and if you don't then I'm leaving you in suspense.
♥Raynor
P.S sorry about all the extra spacing, blogger has gone a bit crazy over the last few weeks and it keeps putting lots of extra spacing into my posts and I can't fix it.

Jelly Bums Giraffe

After a few days of knitting (and mostly frogging) the latest pattern picked by Michelle T in the very first Jelly Bums competition, It's eventually finished and I'm proud to present a little giraffe.

 
The pattern was a nice challenge as it required a whole chart design for the body and neck, plus the addition of the long neck. I think he is super cute and he seemed to be in demand before he was even created. Out of the 92 entries for the competition a giraffe was selected as the most wanted pattern with 17 entries. So if you want to get your mitts on your very own little giraffe he is now available as a single pattern and also part of the pattern deals from my etsy shop.

So for now I'll dash off to get working on another new pattern, and I'll see you all back here in a few days for the pattern reveal.

Take Care

♥ Raynor

Jelly Bums Bear

I would like to start this post by saying a huge thank you to all the people who have entered the competition so far, your kind words and comments have bowled me over thank you so much. It's really interesting to see what animals everyone is requesting, there is quite a variety although there are one or two which are being requested a lot. Remember the competition is still running until Friday, and the winners will be emailed to let them know they have won, but I'll announce it on here too, so fingers crossed everyone.

OK so as promised I have another new pattern albeit a week late! Its a little bear, don't worry though he is far from grizzly, as usual he is now available from my etsy shop as a single pattern or any of the pattern deals.

 
Jelly Bum Bears cuddly little fellows. They may seem scary but they are actually really shy and easily scared, so they need to be loved and protected. They are very loyal and will always defend the ones they love most. They love nothing more than sniffing out delicious food and gobbling up anything they find, so don't let them near your kitchen or you may find yourself eaten out of house and home!
The Bear pattern is also one of the prizes to go to the winner and is eligible to pick as a prize by the runners up. Right, I'm off for now, but I'll be back on Friday to announce the winner, so heave a lovely day/night in your part of the world.
♥Raynor

Competition time

Hey all, sorry to all those who were awaiting the arrival of a new Jelly Bum critter this week, I'm running a bit behind with the new pattern but I promise it will be available by Wednesday at the latest.
So to make it up to you I've decided to run a competition, and here are the prizes:

First place :
* The 7 current Jelly Bum patterns (Dog, cat, pig, monkey, elephant, lion & bear)
* Your choice of animal made into a Jelly Bums pattern

Second place:
* 3 current Jelly Bum patterns of your choice

Third Place:
* 1 current Jelly Bum pattern of your choice

The patterns will be sent via PDF email only so make sure you have adobe reader available for free at http://www.adobe.com/ .
Only one entry per email address please.
The winners will be chosen at random by computer generated numbers.
The Competition is now closed.

Good Luck to all the entrants.
♥ Raynor

Jelly Bums Lion

Hello all, I'm back again with another new pattern. This time we have a little Lion, isn't he adorable!

Jelly Bum Lions are proud little creatures. They love to spend time with their family 'pride' and they always hunt, rest and play together. They are little softies at heart and love nothing more than a little bit of sunbathing on a hot day.
I'm really happy with how this little guy turned out, he looks really sweet. I'll get started on another pattern either tomorrow or Wednesday so check back to see who will be the newest addition to the Jelly Bum zoo.
♥ Raynor

Jelly Bums Elephant

Another day, another new pattern. This time I'm proud to introduce you to the Jelly Bum elephant, the pattern is now available from my etsy shop.


Jelly Bum elephants are very wise and intelligent creatures. They are very family orientated so you'll have to knit up a whole herd of them so they don't feel lonely. They like to talk to each other with their 'trumpet-like' calls and their favourite hang out is wallowing around waterholes whilst their playful little ones grab each others tails.
I eventually finished my little ear flap hat for my little girl, it turned out really well but I think I'm going to remake it with some chunkier yarn so its nice and cosy. In other needle news I'm trying to finish off a Sheldon for my eldest daughter who took a shine to the first one I knitted which was blue. So as she has a penchant for all things purple I decided that would be the perfect colour for her, she only 18 months old and is chomping at the bit for it as she keeps trying to steal it off my needles!
I'll be back to creating another new pattern this week, I'm not too sure what it will be yet but as usual I promise I'll get pictures up as soon as it's available to buy. So have a nice weekend everyone and happy knitting.
♥ Raynor

Jelly Bums Monkey

As promised I'm back with another new pattern for you all, it's a little cheeky monkey. He is now available to but from my etsy shop.


 
Jelly Bum monkeys are mischievous little critters. They extremely fun-loving and especially love to play practical jokes . Bananas are their favourite food and swinging from trees is their favourite pastime. They are very curious, but don't let them get easily bored as they may stir up some trouble!
Ok I'm off to have some me time now that the kids are in bed, and tomorrow I will be starting on another new patterns so keep your eyes peeled for any updates.
♥ Raynor