Saturday Stash

The other day, I opened one of the chests which hold stash yarn and was pleasantly surprised to see that the contents' level had gone down.  Not to get too excited as it wasn't a huge drop but it was noticeable.  I looked at the second chest and it, too, showed some results.  That's encouraging.

Here is my great accomplishment...Ta-da!  Drum roll please!  The Midnight Rose is complete.  I am so please with it.  This is a crummy photo of the garment but it gives the best idea yet of the color.  My camera just doesn't like purples and dark blues.  We were talking about the shadings yesterday and I decided that, in the best possible way, it's like an oil slick on a puddle.   All dark swirlings of purples, greens, and blues.  But maybe nicer to keep thinking about those roses at midnight.

This photo gives the best idea of the finished product.  I love the curviness of the shape.  It fits perfectly and looks beautiful.  When worn, it is the perfect tunic length - not so long as it appears when flat. 

I am soldiering along on my Year of the Dragon cardi...I kind of got distracted by two little projects.  One is the Nantes Hat  (Amanda Scheuzger) which is supposed to use the remainder of the pink Geisha.  I don't believe it will.  There may be enough for a tiny pair of mittens still.   And I also started this little sweater for donation: Petite Facile  by Meghan Jones.  Such an easy pullover design for a small person.  I may make a few of these...I can use some cool buttons from my collection.  Does collection sound better than stash?

I know that the Lunar New Year actually began last Monday but the celebrations last up to 15 days.  I'm counting on that to get my knitted tribute finished in time.   The New Year is a major event in our part of the world.  Yesterday, we took a play day and went out to the River Rock resort  and casino.  Not a lot of gambling for us...we fed a $5 bill into a penny machine, doubled it and proceeded to lose it all as we tested several other penny games.  Then we went sightseeing. Lots of fresh flower arrangements like the roses above in the hotel lobby - just waiting for their photo op. 

This dragon was sculpted from stainless steel by Kevin Stone specifically to honor the most powerful of the Chinese zodiac symbols.  If you have $5 million dollars, you can buy it for your own yard.  But as you can see, it is very big.  I'm standing right by its head and that front claw is bigger than I am.

I love how shiny it is.  On a sunny day it would be blinding.  But yesterday, it was a more cloud than bright sun and we saw beautiful reflections from the marina beside it.

 The head is magnificent, isn't it?

I seem to have strayed from the stash.  It was relevant, sort of.