Button Monday

It's harvest time here under the poplar and pine and I thought I'd show you how I've really acquired so many vintage buttons.  The truth is...they grow here. 

 Come with me for a little walk, won't you?

If you look carefully, you can find them in the flowers.

Sometimes with coordinating spiders.

They're hidden amongst the leaves and dew.

Some disguise themselves as acorns.

They even sprout up from the earth. 

Sometimes with fancy caps.

Some are shy and try to crawl away.

Some are even edible.

 

So if you ever come to visit, bring your baskets.  You never know what will be in season.

Happy Monday!

Dyeing With Mushrooms

Note I said "dyeing" and not "dying".  I didn't want anyone to worry after my last post about eating mushrooms.  We enjoyed our mushroomy feast, and lived to not only tell the tale, but dye some wool too.

I had a number of lobster mushrooms from the harvest that were past their prime and no longer suitable for eating.  I noticed that the mushroom flesh that had started to degrade was turning a lovely cranberry red and I thought that was a good sign.  I had read that lobster mushrooms yield a lovely cinnamon pink so I was eager to test it out. 

This is what I did.  I took the past-prime mushrooms, cut them up into small pieces, put them in a stainless steel pot with a bit of water and brought them to a boil.  In the meantime, I put my wool fabric, wool roving, and linen in my glass dye jars that I had filled with water and ammonia.  Ammonia is my mordant in this instance and is used to help set the dye color.  When dyeing wool, it's helpful to pre-wet it since it's reluctant to suck up water.  That's great for wool outwear, but not so great when you want it to take on dye evenly.  (I carefully dunked the wool roving without agitating it, as I didn't want it to start felting.)

When the mushrooms had boiled, I turned off the heat and let them sit.  I drained the water and ammonia from the dye jars and once cooled, poured the mushroom liquid (straining the chunks out) into the dye jar.

The large jar contains dye from only lobster mushrooms while the smaller jar/s contain a mixture of lobster mushrooms and sulphur shelf. 

I will note that while I was cleaning the sulphur shelf/chicken mushroom prior to eating it, it was giving off a bright yellow color.  I suspect much of that color was wasted in the cleaning process so the resulting dye was more drab than if I had used it immediately.

The lobster mushroom dye was as promised, a gorgeous cinnamon pink, and the wool seemed to be picking up the hue nicely.

I left the jars outside in the sun, not wanting to risk having the kids spill them all over my house, and that brought on some changes.  I watched, over the course of 3 days, the colors change in hue and intensity. 

day 1

day 2

day 3

At day three it seemed as if the colors had stopped changing so I pulled the fiber from the jars.  I braced myself for the stench, expecting it to knock me over.  It was reminiscent of the cow barn on a hot day at the county fair, but it didn't pack quite the pungent aroma I expected from a jar filled with dead mushrooms and ammonia.  Still, I don't think Chanel will be calling me for my aromatic prowess anytime soon.

Obviously the dye was not photo-stable, and although the colors are muted, the batch that contained only the lobster mushrooms did retain a peachy color both in the roving and in the creases of the wool fabric.  The linen didn't seem to take up much of anything.  The mixed-mushroom dye resulted in a very pale tan.

I had to try wet-felting some of the wool to see if it retained its color after being subjected to soap, hot water, and friction.  This is the result, next to an undyed acorn.

It's not too different from the color of that mold growing on the stump, is it? 

Hmm...I wonder....

More Mushroom Gathering

Last weekend's wander into the wood was one of my most successful yet in terms of mushroom-gathering.  I had gone in search of the one lobster mushroom that hubby claimed to have seen and came back with a bounty of mushrooms.  I think I've said this before, but it is amazing what you see when you really stop to look.

Not only did I find the one lobster mushroom, but several pounds of his friends.  Pounds!  The last time I checked, fresh lobster mushrooms were selling for about $20 a pound, so we were feeling rather fancy that night with our lobster mushroom pasta, let me tell you.  There is such satisfaction in eating something you've gathered yourself, isn't there?

lobstah!

Sadly, (or not) about half of the lobsters were already past their prime.  I was able to save about 2 pounds for cooking and the other 3 pounds or so were used to make wool dye, something I've wanted to try for a while.  Those results will be coming tomorrow or this weekend, so stay tuned.  You can bet though that my calendar is marked for next year's harvest.  I don't plan to miss out on these anymore.

While I was out I also found black trumpets, chanterelles, coral mushrooms, old man of the woods, and more.

black trumpets

   

old man of the woods, the younger years

old man of the woods, the twilight years

I saw this mushroom and thought that it looked like a scoop of ice cream...

but when I went back out the next day it had sprouted up 4 inches and appeared to be a Destroying Angel.  Not so sweet anymore.  The Destroying Angel is considered deadly, hence the terrifically terrifying name. 

I think it's important to note here that unless I'm dealing with a mushroom that I'm completely comfortable with, I don't touch them with my hands. 

Also, I don't eat a mushroom unless I'm completely positive that it's edible. 

When in doubt, throw it out.

I saw a number of Indian Pipes too, which I've never noticed in our woods before.  While they're not a mushroom, they're often confused as such.  They too carry a creepy name...the Corpse Plant.  The Indian Pipe is parasitic and receives its nutrients from a fungus.  The fungus "feeds" on a tree, the Indian Pipe "feeds" on the fungus...how cool is that?

As I was heading back to the house with my sweatshirt acting as a rucksack, stuffed with mushrooms, look what was on the horizon...

That, friends, is a Chicken Mushroom aka Sulphur Shelf mushroom.  Another choice edible for me!  It was about 10 feet up on a dead oak and I had to go back to the house to get a limb cutter to get it down.  This big guy weighed in at a little over 4 pounds, but they're known to get much, much bigger.  We had lobster mushrooms on the menu for that night so I prepped this guy for freezing.  I was able to cook and freeze 4 family-sized servings, and yes, it really does taste like chicken.  It will be terrific in soup this fall.

 The bits that weren't suitable for eating were once again used for dyeing.

a tiny specimen in my son's hand

 Well, now that I've probably bored you all to tears with my mushroom mania...

I promise that more crafting news will be coming soon.  I've been working on a few projects, some new, some re-visited and hope to have a shop update soon.  Perhaps there will even be some mushrooms involved.

Have a great day, all and thanks for stopping by. 

I hope you all find something incredible on your wanders today, too.

Wordless Wednesday

Ok, again with the non-wordless Wednesday... my son found this guy sort of flopping through the grass.  As you can see, he's missing an arm but don't fret, he swims like a champ.  Inspiring little guy.

It's Monday

I had the most amazing mushroom hunting and woods-wandering weekend and I'm eager to share my finds with you.  Unfortunately though, two of my little ones came down with fevers and coughs last night so until everyone is healthy again, I'll be busy making tea and wiping noses. 

(and crossing my fingers that my other two don't get sick)

(or worst yet...my husband)

 (ladies, I know you know what I'm talking about)

 (I'm feeling very parenthetical today)

Be healthy and well, everyone.

 

My Forest Friend

I have a new friend and I'd like to introduce you.  This is the Pine Cone Gatherer and he has come all the way from the mountains of France to live with me. 

For those of you that know Nanou, you'll recognize him instantly as one of her fantastic creations, and you may guess how excited I am to have this guy with me.  For those of you that don't know Nanou, where to begin...  Nanou sees magic in the woods and shares it with us in a way that is enchanting and clever and endearing.  She sculpts these friends from sticks, seeing their personalities and faces in knots and twigs.  She gives life to these creations, each and every one of them, through stories and anecdotes and details like scarves and salt cellar hats.  A look through her flickr stream will totally charm you and will change the way you look at fallen twigs, I promise you.

I carefully opened the box from Nanou, and when I pulled back the covers (the Pine Cone Gatherer slept most of his trip), the local squirrels were immediately abuzz.  His reputation had already spread to the States as a master gatherer and they were more than a little nervous about it.  After a quick stretch and a smile, the Pine Cone Gatherer began looking around his new home.

I feared that the language barrier might make things difficult for us, as I don't speak French, but luckily the Pine Cone Gatherer spoke perfect English, in the most lovely French accent.  I could listen to him all day, but he would have none of that.  He set to work almost immediately gathering acorns and mushrooms (amethyst deceivers for me to try dyeing with).   I can tell he'll be very helpful around here.

I guess he needed a little exercise after his long trip (and all that sleeping).  After he gathered for a while, he took a break, I wiped his brow, and we tried on some new hats together.

He was a good sport about it.

Yes, yes, this is nice. 

OK, that's enough now.

Seriously.  Enough.  This is ridiculous.

After he had done his gathering, I found him a bowl of pinecones to rest in for the night. 

I think I see him smiling a little.

Thank you, Nanou, for sharing a bit of your world with me.  I will cherish my forest friend, and you as my friend, always. 

Crafting For Ourselves

Another bevy of beauties pulled from the Crafting For Ourselves group on Flickr.  These are things we've made for ourselves or our families.  We're taking some time to spoil ourselves, enrich our own lives a bit, with our own talents.  Won't you join us?

1. Birch Art, 2. Autumn's Arrival capelet, 3. Granny Square, 4. Chia Pillar 2, 5. maple tree necklace, 6. So Lucky, 7. nine blocks, 8. new big crochet weekend project bench monday, 9. IMG_6016

Knee-deep In Nature

Some days I'm so utterly floored by the beauty around me, I really am.  Yesterday was one of those days and I was grateful for it.  Grab your cuppa and join me under the poplar and pine, won't you?  (click on the photos for a closer look)

Early in the morning I went out in search of a Wordless Wednesday post and spent a little too much time getting lost in the mushrooms.

There were coral-shaped mushrooms

purple mushrooms

and parts of mushrooms.

While snapping pics I looked up to see a drop of blood on a leaf and wondered who the victim was.  Ah, the mysteries of the woods.

The boys found a walking stick on the barn and we moved him to a nearby leaf.

you can hardly see him

It's a good thing too, because my chickens came running over to see what was going on. 

Later in the day, the boys found this amazing caterpillar.  I think it may be a Polyphemus Moth caterpillar (remember seeing one on the barn?) and judging by its size, I would guess he'll be making his coccoon soon. 

Guess what?  Caterpillar butt!  Sorry...I'm around kids too much.

I checked in on the baby robins in the nest by the barn and look how they've grown in a week.  Remember this?

well just look at them now!  I relate, momma robin, mine are growing this fast too.

I started on some holiday gifts, too, a major feat for this procrastinator.  I'm working on some succulent wreaths this year and a trip into the greenhouse revealed some of my lovely succulents in bloom.

and almost in bloom.

Thanks for coming along with me on this little trek.  I'd love to hear about your surroundings.  What are you loving about where you are?