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

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

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 Panda

Why hello there!

I've popped on to let you all know about the new Jelly Bum panda pattern, it's he adorable! As usually he is available from my website or from my etsy shop.

My apologies to everyone who has been in contact asking when I was be releasing a new pattern. My fingers have been itching for months to try and get more patterns out, I've just been so busy with work/uni which are definitely pattern stoppers, much to my disappointment.

I've been off on holiday this week for the first time in 3 months so I've had a chance to catch up with things, the the new pattern out and even get started on a new pattern. I am catching the bull by the horns this time as I won't get another break until Christmas time. Once I get the new pattern out I'll try and get some new dress up patterns available too.

I hope your all doing well and enjoying your knitting, I love the change in the seasons when it feels good to be knitting cosy stuff again, makes you feel all warm and fuzzy.

I'll be back soon with updates on the latest pattern under construction.

Raynor x

Jelly Bum Kangaroo

Ok I'm just going to slip quietly through the door here, since I should be ashamed at myself for neglecting this little blog!

My apologies for disappearing, it seems my knitting life is back on track after my little stint on work placement for uni. It seems to be hotting up here in Scotland (Read as: the temperatures are now just above freezing!) but all I want to do is knit, knit, knit. Seems that it's the perfect way to procrastinate when I should really be writing that 3000 word essay.

Over the last while I've been mulling away with this pattern until I had perfected it, so I'm proud to introduce to you the Jelly Bum Kangaroo. I've been informed by the lovely Australian Faye that the toys should be referred to as 'she' as male kangaroos do not have pouches (ashamedly showing my ignorance by calling it a 'he') which would make sense since they are for the little Joeys after all.

As usual available from all the usual etsy and website locations. I hope you all like him and want to knit them up for your little joeys.

For the next few pattern I'm going to concentrate on a few more clothing patterns for the toys so I'll be doing a boy theme and a girl theme still deciding what I'll go with for them though but have a few sketches down. So keep an eye out for them.

Love, hugs and thanks for your patience

Raynor x

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 Cow

How now brown cow, look what I've eventually got around to finishing!


 
Finally managed to get things sorted out with the light box and managed to get a new one which was luckily delivered very quickly. I hope this little fellow was worth the wait.
In knitting news this week, I was so touched to learn that a lovely lady named Kate had purchased her pattern to knit for her friends newly adopted son who was making a long trip from Kazakhstan. His birth name means 'leader of the snow leopards' so she was going to knit him up a white Jelly Bum tiger and give it to him for him to cuddle on his long journey home. It never ceases to amaze me how kind-hearted some people can be, and I hope little Bekbaris is now settling into his lovely new home with his little snow leopard.
Things will be a bit hectic in out house this next week as my little princesses celebrate their birthdays. Evie will turn 2 on Monday and Lois will have her first birthday on the following Sunday, oh how time flies. I will be attempting to make a cake for Evies birthday but we'll see how that goes as my baking skills are a little rusty!
I will try and get started on the next pattern during middle of next week so hopefully I will be back on track again with getting the patterns out more regularly. Ok I'm off to purchase some baking ingredients, do you think guests would mind eating knitted cupcakes if it all goes pear-shaped?
♥ Raynor

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 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