The Girl with...No Time on Her Hands

Let's hope, in the New Year, I manage to write a heck of a lot more than 2012. I also hope that I can manage to finish my penguin challenge of which I only finished one book (pathetic).

And of all things, my procrastination is purely caused by The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Somehow in July I started to read this series (you've probably read it, so sorry to bore you) and it somehow absorbed all my free time into the Fall. The first book went rather well, the second was a tad slower and the third (!) I suffered through. Don't get me wrong, these are all excellent books but I was not in the right head space to get through the Swedish names and levels of Sweden's police departments!

I apologize for not photographing my Christmas crafts, my leg lamp cookies, my knitting...perhaps with the winter sunlight I will wake up a little and write a tad more in the New Year.

Versailles and Fabric Fusion!

I stumbled upon the current summer contemporary art installation at Versailles whilst purging my old bookmarks on the computer. How fabulous! These crazy quilted octopus' are invading the palace of Versailles for the summer and brings a whole "high-art" twist to yarn bombing, or quilt bombing as the case may be.

Royal Valkyrie by Joana Vasconcelos, at the Palace of Versailles

In case you don't know, the famous pop artist Takashi Murakami (most recognized by his Louis Vuttion multi-coloured purses) did an art installation at Versailles that raised a lot of controversy. I believe it was the first of such art installations in the palace.

Do you want to know how to say that in art speak - you say "art interventions." Yes, I work in the art world and hear this lingo bullshit all the time.

The controversy was quite extensive, merely because there are traditionalists who want historic buildings to remain historic without any change or influence from present day. From a museum stand-point, this is suicide. How often have you caught yourself saying, "Been there, seen that." This is one way museums are trying to bring people in, with art installations, performance, theatre, festivals etc. And what what's wrong with that? It's fun. You may not like it but it's only temporary. Maybe next time you'll like it.

Royal Valkyrie by Joana Vasconcelos

I have never heard of this artist, Joana Vasconcelos. The sculptures are pretty wacky. I can't say I like them all either. But I really like the bright colours against the rococo pastel paintings. Pretty wicked! If you would like to see all the installations, there is a special website here. Or visit Versailles. The Hall of Mirrors  and Marie Antionette's bedroom are amazing!

Stitch and Bitch Baby Blanket

Even though I am currently complaining about crochet, I did manage to knit a baby blanket for my pen pal in Taiwan. This was my first knitted baby blanket (!) and the pattern was from the first Stitch and Bitch book by Debbie Stoller. You can also get the pattern here on Ravelry.

This was a fantastic easy project. Excellent if you are a beginner (which I am not - but sometimes I act like one.)

Attempting: Flowers in the Snow

The scissors come in handy once there is far too many knots.

Ugh! Why do I torture myself?

While I knit, I admit I am not really good at it. No, I do not check my gauge and when I do I don't really understand what I am doing. And even though I can finish a project, I feel like I was in art school - never completely satisfied - knowing I could have done better.

So why do I torture myself? I think I am addicted to it.

Now I am re-teaching myself crochet. I was rather good at it as a child and sadly, picking up the hook again is not anywhere similar to always remembering how to ride a bike.

Bad Point: I don't remember a thing about crochet.

Bad Point: I do remember that I always made my stitches too tight.

Good Point: Crochet is faster and more fulfilling is tempting for the making of Christmas presents.

Good Point: I came across this pattern and loved it sooo much.

Good Point: 'Tis perfect for using up your yarn stash.

Good Point: You only have to pay between $2 - $3 for a hook.

Flowers in the Snow by Solveig Grimstad

Very nordic isn't it? I love the variety of colour and it doesn't look old (which is the problem with many granny square patterns). Fresh! Colour! Hip! Yes, it is all good.

This awesome and free pattern can be found on Ravelry under Solveig, here or you can check out her amazing site here. Trust me you'll want to pick up a hook once you visit.

For now I will be trying to make my circles look like her's. Hmmmm...not happening.....(enter any swear word here).

And another tip: this is the best link I have found for learning how to crochet (so far (-:). Good luck!

Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore

Working and commuting so much has made me embrace my slow cooker. A familiar fav is my Chicken Cacciatore which I continue to adapt and work on. I don't know what it is but I am not impressed with most C.C. recipe's. They are lacking in flavour and are too simple.

That's right Delia Smith and America's Test Kitchen: your recipes are boring.

Maybe my adaptation is not traditionally Italian. Who cares? It's good.

Miss Loverly's Chicken Cacciatore
4 large chicken breasts, skin on, with bone
A can of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup of dried mushrooms (assorted is good)
1/4 cup of Kalamata Black Olives (remove the pits yourself)
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 large garlic cloves, diced
white wine
1 bay leaf
1 heaping tablespoon of dried Italian herbs
salt
pepper
fresh basil if you have it (not necessary)
pasta or rice to serve with

While this recipe may be made in a crock pot, you can as easily make this in a large cast iron pot to cook away slowly on the stove or in the oven.

1. Boil your kettle and let your dried mushrooms seep in half a cup of the hot water. After fifteen minutes, take your mushrooms and dice them. Save the water.

2. Place your chicken in the crock pot. If you are diet conscious, remove the skin. Sometimes I like to do half with skin on and half without. This time it's sans skin. Bone in is ideal for flavour. Salt and pepper your chicken. Add your onions and Italian herbs.

3. Add your garlic, onions and olives. Add the chopped dried mushrooms and it's seeped liquid. Add your can of diced tomatoes, a bay leaf and one cup or more of white wine (just ensure that the chicken is submerged). Make sure your ingredients are well distributed and stir if they are not. Set your crock pot on for 6 hours. If you are to make this on the stove, a slow two hours is good.

4. As there is quite a bit of liquid, you may add rice directly to the crock pot and wait for it to cook, testing it ever so often to see if it is ready. Remember brown rice takes longer! If you are adding to pasta, you may like to take the top off of the crock pot and let some of the liquid simmer off. You may also add a tablespoon of cornstarch and hot water (well mixed) to the sauce to thicken as well.

5. Adding some fresh torn basil is completely optional though it is a great addition.

Why this recipe works:
The dried mushrooms add an earthy-ness to the dish and don't water down the sauce.
The olives add saltiness.
The basil is just darn good and extremely Italian.
It is so easy!

A Visit to Aberfoyle

If you are in the Southern Ontario area, you probably know of Aberfoyle, Ontario. If not, let me fill you in. Aberfoyle is located just outside of Guelph and is home to one of the largest and oldest antique markets. The market is held every Sunday (yes, that's right, only Sunday). And what better way to spend the day then to jumble sail! or is it jumble sale? That's what the Brits call it anyway.

This is one of the "streets" at Aberfoyle, named so you don't get lost.

The market sprawls in and out of trees and into gravel clearings.
Some sellers have little booths, while others are literally set up out of their car!

I feel for the sellers in this area: poor suckers have no shade.

So what can you find at Aberfoyle? Really anything. I went with four items in mind: stereoscope cards (which I used to collect, but have neglected), coins for my friend at Coin Coin Designs & Co. , pie birds, and those Mario Batali antique string holder heads that I desperately want for my kitchen!!! (and which I have previously blogged about here).

I managed to actually find a String Head (is that what you would call them?!) But I didn't like it at all.

Is it a dog or a cat? It's $45, that's all I know.

I noticed some really obvious collecting trends. First: old Crown mason jars were everywhere and ranged in price from $3 to over $12. Another was old carved duck decoys! You should have heard this fellow give the history of this duck from the 1920's. The fact that you can even tell the date of when something like that is carved is amazing. Typewriters and rotary phones were everywhere. The average price for a rotary phone was about $45! Wild!

There were excellent prices on old cameras. Lots of paint by number (ever see Drew Barrymore's collection? It rocks). And all the toys that boys played with in the 80's are suddenly worth something.

Some really neat costume jewelry, military pins and watches...

Where I could have gone crazy but didn't was here: (I am so proud of my restraint!)

WHOA! This is the best selection of antique typefaces yet!!!

Need more information on Aberfoyle? Check out their website.

Canvas Rug Project

I did a little (i.e. big project) over at my friend's blog, Hobby Junkies. It is a Canvas Floor Rug, which is a great craft for the painter and decorator in you.

Check it out, here.