white chanterelles...

with all the walking and mushroom foraging going on around here, we have of course been finding a few to eat as well. this is my first year really trying to find edible mushrooms, but i'm enjoying it a lot. while pacific golden chanterelles are generally the big draw around here, i seem to have more luck finding their white cousins, although i have found a few golden ones here and there. they all taste good to me! last night was not a particularly fruitful hunt, but we found a couple very large ones, as you can see above (plus one little puffball).

all this mushroom foraging had me thinking about making a few more permanent specimens:



these are handstitched in a loose weave cotton, salvaged from an old shirt. the creamy colour is mottled with more golden stripes. as a first attempt, i quite like them. i think i need to work on the ruffled edges a bit more, but as a start i think they turned out well. i'm thinking about making a few more, and possibly experimenting with painting the fabric a bit, to make some golden chanterelles. a light wash of orange might do the trick.



as the days get shorter, it's more tricky to forage for mushrooms after work. my eyes stop seeing variations in the mossy undergrowth as the light fades in the evening. it also makes it hard to take photos, which i tend to want to do of every fungi that pops its head up to say hello. but, as we headed home for a late dinner, we were rewarded with this lovely scene.