Mushrooms Mushrooms Mushrooms

As the weather has been turning, so have the mushrooms under the poplar and pine.  We've had a new crop of lovely yellow amanitas pop up, some boletes, and a few others that I hadn't seen in previous weeks and I'm excited to see what pops up next.  I've also been noticing the decay of some of the older mushrooms and have found them equally inspiring and sometimes downright beautiful.  I hope you do too.

Love how thin the profile is.

the color on this one!  Love!



the sun was glinting off the droplets like a prism on these



an Old Man of the Woods looking super scruffy

the boys and I debated this...I said brain on a stick, they said butt.

a tiny parasol

decay

love the patterns in this decaying russula

and look at those gills!

a spiky puffball at the end of its days

just gorgeous, even as they fade

losing color but still lovely

this is how they appeared a few weeks ago

he looks a little mopey

bolete

Happy Friday!

Crafting For Ourselves

Oh what a plethora of wonderfulness in the Crafting For Ourselves Flickr group this week!  This is but a sample of the awesome things we've been making for ourselves, our friends, our family.  I hope you'll love them as much as I do.



1. trying, 2. Toothbrush caddy, 3. little white pun'kin, 4. a new life for a torn vintage apron, 5. Wide Sterling Cuff, 6. Big Bad Wolf, 7. Happy Birthday, Jackie!, 8. Knees, 9. For a Very Stylish Witch

I haven't had much time to craft for myself this week and I thought for sure I'd have another no-show in the group.  Then, at the last moment, hubby decided to make caramel rolls.  He accidentally over-cooked the caramel topping, turning it into actual caramel...think Slo-Pokes.  Mmmmm.  So, I grabbed a knife and some waxed paper and voila!  Caramels!  That counts, right? 

I'll be heading off for a few days and will be back early next week.  I have a mushroom post scheduled for tomorrow and with luck, new stuff to share next week.

Take care, and see you soon!

One Down

The back-to-school sniffles have found their way beneath the poplar and pine and the entire clan is feeling less than stellar.  Since the kiddies and I were all taking it easy anyway, it was a good excuse for me to let the laundry and housework sit, and do some crafting.  After coating myself in a fine layer of antibacterial hand lotion (which I sort of liked), I pulled out the toadstool project I had been working on.

This is where I had left it last.

And this is where it is now.

I wanted to fatten up the stem a bit and finish up the base.  I added some details such as a fall leaf on a twig, some more moss, pebbles, and sporophytes, making it feel more "real" to me.  All of it is needle-felted wool, no glue or structural sewing.  (the sporophytes are cotton thread, but they're decorative)

This is part of a commission and is flying off somewhere special in his apothecary jar, like a proper specimen.  I have a few more to finish up but at least I have one down.  I guess if this cold persists I may have some time to get them done.

The real amanitas have been popping up in our woods like crazy this week.  Alas, no red ones, but plenty of yellows.  Here's a peek, but expect to see (yet) another mushroom post sometime soon.

I hope you're all having a swell week and are feeling happy and healthy. 
Or at least have coated yourselves in a fine layer of antibacterial hand lotion.

What's the Story Morning Glory?

A quick trip to the woods early yesterday morning led me past my birdfeeder which is now covered in Morning Glories.  I planted them from seed this summer and they've already covered my 6 foot tall feeder. 

I was snapping photos of the dew on the leaves, the vines, and the pretty blue flowers when I looked down to see this guy.

It was chilly, only about 40 degrees, and I wondered at first if he was dead.  I moved the leaf and he clung there so I think he was proably just too cold to move.  His wings and body are highlighted with tiny dew drops and I felt shivery just looking at him.  I felt like I wanted to go make him a scarf, the poor guy.

When the sun came up and the dew was gone, so was he. 

I hope he's enjoying this autumn weather as much as I am.  Meanwhile, I'll see to that tiny scarf.

Wordless Wednesday

Button Monday

Tomorrow is the first day of school here and for the first time I will have two guys taking off on the big yellow bus.  Today's button Monday is a quick arrangement for my intrepid kindergartener and 6th grader.  

Have fun and learn lots, kidlets.  Momma will try not to cry too much at the bus stop. 

(Oh mommm )

Happy Monday everyone.  (and Labor Day too!)

Crafting For Ourselves

I love seeing new work in the Crafting For Ourselves group on Flickr each week and am always impressed by what people are making to enrich their own lives.  If you'd like to join us and show off what you've been working on, whether it be a blanket or a blintze, stop on by the group and join.   In the meantime, please enjoy these lovelies...

1. Jamie's Acorns, 2. A new pin cushion with a little ceramic leaf dish., 3. purse stitch, 4. Bankprojekt - Lieblingsbank?, 5. contrast, 6. owl print, 7. capelet side, 8. drying mat, 9. button hair clips

I'm proud to say that I have a contribution to the group this week as well.  I made myself 3 pairs of cashmere socks and a pair of cashmere pants for my daughter.  Hooray! 

Both the socks and the pants were made from sweater sleeves and were ridiculously easy to make.  As an added bonus, they were much more affordable than buying cashmere socks (I mean, I love them, but yeesh!) , AND I'm repurposing something that has already seen use and I love that.

I picked up the sweaters for $1 a piece at a garage sale and since I only really used the sleeves, I still have lots of cashmere fabric left to work with.  (hats, perhaps?)

I was realllly tempted to make these into socks for myself but they are pretty cute on her

If you want to make your own socks, here's a super simple how-to. 

(I was sewing outside on my deck, so pardon the not-so-great photos...)

First, I turned the sweater inside out.  In order to size the socks correctly, I stuck my foot into the sleeve, pulling the sweater cuff up past my ankle until it felt like a comfortable height.  I plan to wear these in my hiking boots so I kept in mind the height of my boots as well.  

I then pinned above my toes, being mindful of the curve of my toes.  You could cut them straight across but I wanted my socks to be fitted.  This sweater fit the width of my foot well so I didn't have to worry about taking it in any on the sides.

I cut the sleeve off just above the pins and then used it as a pattern for the other sleeve/sock.

After that, I just sewed up the toe using a straight stitch first then going back over it with a zig zag.  After they were sewn, I flipped them right-side out and there you have it!   Socks! 

Eso si que es! (s.o.c.k.s. - sorry, jr. high spanish joke)

I don't think my chicken was that impressed but I'm tellin' ya, my feet feel like they're walking on clouds.  Not bad for a buck, huh?

What have you made for yourself lately?

Carolina Sphinx Moths

The other night, just at dusk, my husband and boys called me outside to the porch.  They were witnessing what at first they thought to be birds drinking from our angel trumpet flowers.  I dashed outside and there they were, four or five of them, flitting from flower to flower.  They were the size of hummingbirds but when one landed briefly on my 5 year old, we got to see up close that they were moths.  It wasn't until I snapped a few photos and came inside to look that we could really see what kind they were. 

These are Carolina Sphinx moths, members of the Hawk Moth family.  Its caterpillar is known as the tobacco hornworm and though I don't think we have tobacco growing around here, we certainly have plenty of nightshade, which they also enjoy. 

look at that tongue! click on the photo to see it better

The moths have long "tongues" that they use to lap nectar from flowers.  From what I've read, the moths are drawn to flowers that open at night, are white or pale, have a sweet fragrance, a horizontal to pendant posture, abundant sucrose-rich nectar, and a long nectar tube.  I guess the angel trumpets fit the bill.  As we stood there watching, the perfume of the flowers was hanging in the air and it was delicious.  I wished for a moment that I was a moth. 

Hawk moths insert their tongues, and sometimes their whole bodies, into the flowers to collect nectar.

The next morning we spotted two of them on the barn, perhaps resting after their heavy night of drinking, and we moved them to the garden out of the reach of the chickens.

what big eyes you have...

They humored us for a moment, just long enough to have a photo taken, and then they flew off. 

They've come back to the angel trumpets for the past few nights as they begin to open for the night, and we all gather on the porch above them to watch.  You can see them dipping their long tongues into the flowers like kids dipping straws into sodas.  It's really incredible, and something I've never witnessed before this.  I'm really glad we all got to see it.

Nature is just endlessly fascinating, isn't it?

Wordless Wednesday