Wednesday 19 March 2008

Compatibility

'Simeon' 16"

What a testing week it has been! My old computer had been groaning every time I tried to do any work on it for quite some time and so I had to face facts, the poor old thing was past its sell by date. Naively, I decided to buy a new desktop pc. It arrived by courier and my son and I soon had the hardware set up, plugging all the right cables into all the right holes ... "job's a doddle," I recklessly thought. However, when I enthusiastically pressed the pretty blue button to fire it up, I wasn't at all prepared for the nasty non-compatible nightmare which greeted me.

I won't bore you with the details, but one awful migraine and two entirely frustrating days later, I finally managed to establish how to make the wretched, sneaky thing work. Oh and in case you are wondering, no I am not a complete computer dunderhead! I'm no whizz kid either, but I can usually get where I want to go without too much trouble. Anyway, to cut a long and painful story short, I ended up having to upgrade my modem, upgrade drivers for all my hardware, upgrade to AOL 9.0VR, work out how to migrate my website and accept the fact that my Microsoft Outlook files aren't ... yep, you guessed it, compatible! GRRRRRR!!!! One thing's for sure, by this point I wasn't feeling particularly compatible either!


'Simeon' 16"

I've spent today installing the new wireless modem, networking the family's pcs' and re-establishing contact with the outside world and at last we are up and running. There was a brief moment when I almost threw a blue fit because I thought my lovely Canon digicam wouldn't work with the new system, but in the nick of time I discovered that if I use the card reader, rather than the usb cable, it works perfectly. Phew ... (and breathe Paula!) In fact, now that I've just about finished fighting with my new 'Vista' system, I suppose I should be honest and tell you, we're actually bonding quite nicely. It's an absolute whizz at opening files, even my juicy photo graphics and it has the most enormous hard drive ... ah, surely you can't blame a girl for having her head so easily turned?!

Baby Erin's pink cardigan finished at last!

Enough of my trials and tribulations, at least I can report one or two things that actually went okay this week! I managed to finish the 16" bear 'Simeon' above, especially for my little knitted vest top and after an hour in the armchair clacking away, Erin Rose can at last wear her new pink cardigan ... no bumble bee buttons though, they didn't match perfectly enough, so I've settled for pretty pink flowers instead. Hopefully my sister will send me a pic of Erin wearing her new cardi soon! Laura, are you out there in the ether listening? Fingers crossed Erin hasn't grown too quickly and this cardi still fits her! ;o)

Oh before I go, I should mention the mohair! Simeon bear is made from some fabric I last used quite a few years ago. I remember making a Christmas bear called 'Yule' from this fabric ... hmmn, I wonder where he is now? (Hunts determinedly through files and bingo! Finds a pic especially for you ...)

'Yule' 20" 1999/2000 ish

Anyway, as I was saying, I haven't seen this particular fabric on sale for a very long time. I do know it was used by Steiff and used to be available in black, white, gold and chocolate. I had this piece of chocolate left over and have kept it ever since, ready to use again when I had an ideally sized pattern designed for it. Well, after all this time, the day finally came!

By the way, the name 'Simeon' flowed as follows ... Easter, hot cross buns, chocolate eggs, Simnel cake .... Simeon! And that dear pop pickers, is how my head works. Worrying eh?!

8 comments:

  1. Brilliant, Paula!!
    Both Simeon and the baby cardigan are awesome!
    Finally you have created the "perfect bear" for that nice vest! I am dreaming of him in the middle of a field of daffodils...
    Monica.

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  2. Gorgeous Paula, scrummy choclatey colour for Simeon :) mmm hot cross buns for Easter, I miss those not living in the UK anymore. Hugs, Catherine x

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  3. I'm so pleased you both like Simeon - thank you! I think his chocolate colour really works well with the stripey vest ... and he reminds me very much of when I first started bear-making. He has quite a nostalgic flavour!

    Oh Catherine, no hot cross buns? How awful! I do hope you at least have plenty of yummy chocolate eggs in Belgium!

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  4. Such a lovely post Paula. Simeon looks like he needs a knotted hankie on his head, his vest top feels nostalgic to me too! Either 1930's or 70's I can't decide!Gorgeous mohair, must remember to hang onto some of mine!

    Hugs, Sarah x

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  5. Hi Sarah, Thanks for popping in! I think you've hit the nail on the head with 30's and 70's ... it does stir thoughts of both doesn't it! I remember wearing a stripey 'tank top' my mum knitted for me in the 70's (er, thanks Mum!) and I think the shape of Simeon's vest top is definitely reminiscent of the 1930's.

    I tend to hang on to my larger offcuts of mohair because sometimes it's really refreshing to use it again in the future. I have another piece of fabric I'm thinking about at the moment, my sister gave it to me when she stopped bear making a couple of years ago and I remember she originally used it for a beautiful big traditional bear called Edward ... he was one of her early designs about twelve or so years ago ... this fabric hasn't been available for a very long time as far as I'm aware and I'm dying to use it - I have a particular idea in mind ... but I'm not ready to share just yet!

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  6. Simeon is simply gorgeous, I love the dense chocolate fabric. I'm new to bear making but I already have difficulty sometimes cutting into the precious mohair , am having an adventure with dying later wish me luck!
    Happy Easter, Ginie-Lee.

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  7. OOPS! I've just realised what I said in my comment sounds a little odd! I'm not dying in the literal sense just dyeing some mohair ;-)
    Ginie-Lee.

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  8. Lovely to hear from you Ginie-Lee! Thank you for stopping by - I'm so pleased you like Simeon. Have fun with that dying ... you made me grin with your comment!

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