52 Forms of Fungi || #40

Last fall, Berroco so kindly provided some yarn for me to use on this project.  The majority of it was varying gauges of Ultra Alpaca (a personal favorite), but also in that box was a new yarn that was about to be released.  A super soft, shiny, beautifully draping yarn.  Now that I'm nearing the end of my project, I'm finishing up my Berroco yarn stash as well.  The two shades of this lovely mystery yarn triggered an epiphany in my brain the other day as I realized the perfect species to use them for: oyster mushrooms.  

This is a timely post, as I've been seeing oysters all over my feed lately from local wild crafters.  Apparently, this is a really great year for them in Oklahoma.  I'll bet more will be popping up over the weekend, with all the slow, drizzly rain we've been getting this week.  You may be noticing this from the photos, but no, I did not detail the gills this time, mostly due to time constraints.  Please don't hate me.  If you like to see stitching for gills though, check out Lactarius indigo, another species that I knitted with Berroco yarn.  

And now that you're fully wondering what that mystery yarn is (I know you are), I suppose I'll tell you... it's Folio!  The caps were knitted with the Peaks colorway, and the cream shade is called Orr.  These are by far the smooshiest (not a word, but go with it) mushrooms I've made to date.  This yarn has some serious drape.  I'm really considering ordering more to make a sweater or a wrap with; so lovely.

Well, it's been a busy week of knitting/posting about fungi!  I will be working on more over the weekend, and now we're at a countdown!  12 phases left! Hard to believe.  I wish you a very happy Friday!

These mushrooms were knitted for my project, 52 Forms of Fungi.  You can see more phases from this project here.

52 Forms of Fungi || #39

Orange peel fungus!  Named because... well, orange peels... As I mentioned yesterday, I had some issues this week with getting photos for the project due to weather and being so close to the solstice.  It was getting a little dark out by the time I got to shoot this phase, and the clearest photos were a little darker than I usually go for.  The resulting mood was true to the nature of the day, however, and I like how much the pieces stand out in the gloomy setting.  So, rather than correct the brightness I decided to leave the photos as they were.

This was knitted for my 52 Forms of Fungi project.  See more phases from this project here.

52 Forms of Fungi || #38

The odds seem to be against me this week in getting photos of the phases I've been working on.  I made it to a favorite photo spot just as the sun was going down yesterday to capture this species and another that will be posted tomorrow, only to realize that I left my SD card at home (At least I had tacos to look forward to afterward).  This morning before work, it was still too dark by the time I had to leave.  This afternoon--- steady rain and dim outside.  This leads me to realize that every phase to date has been shot in clear weather, so why not get a couple when it's damp?  It's a nice contrast.  In any case after a little while of crawling around in the back yard in my raincoat...

Western amethyst laccaria.  Not found in my area, but I would love to run across it one day.  I don't know what it is, but the purple fungi grab my attention the most.  My favorite about this species was the variegation in color of the stalk.  I knitted with two strands of different shades to achieve that effect.

This installation was created for my 52 Forms of Fungi project.  Check out more phases from this project, here.

52 Forms of Fungi || #37

I've knitted a lot of mushrooms (including boletes) over the past couple of years, and this is by far the largest one.  King bolete is an impressive specimen, and I would love to make another that's even closer to the large end of the scale.  How exciting it must be for the mushroom forager to come across one of these out in nature!  

This species was knitted as part of my 52 Forms of Fungi project.  See more forms for the project here.

For the holiday shoppers - I have prints and knitted fungi available in my shop!

52 Forms of Fungi || #36

I made a bunch of these for an art event at a local park that I was going to be a part of last month, but I ended up unable to participate at the last minute due to some things happening in my family.  This is the first chanterelle I've done -- cinnabar-red chanterelle, to be exact.  I enjoy doing the stitch detailing for the gills such as with Lactarius indigo.  It wasn't quite as pronounced on these since they are so much smaller, but I like how they turned out.  

It's been a productive weekend on the knitted fungi front - as I'm trying to wrap up this series, I have about 3 others ready to post and one that will be ready in the next couple of days.  The shorter days reduce the amount of time I have to get out and shoot photos of these after I get home from work (or before work, for that matter), but I will do my best!  I would like to complete the series shortly after the New Year, if not before, so efforts will be amped up a little... which means more to see here on the blog until then!  A holiday surprise...

Thanks to everyone for following along!  Check out more posts from this series here.

Gift Ideas

It's that time of year where everyone is shopping for their loved ones, so why not give the gift of art?  I have work available on Society 6 as well as on Etsy.

There's a sale going on in my Society 6 shop --- $5 off each item and free worldwide shipping through the 14th, if you use this link.  This is a great place to shop for the art, nature or knitting lover that likes art they can use rather than just observe.  Phone cases, tote bags, coffee mugs, clocks--- all kinds of products are available in my shop.  Of course, I also have art prints and framed art prints if that's what you're interested in as well.

My Etsy shop includes handmade art, such as the knitted mushrooms you see above.  I also have photo prints and PDF's of my original knitting patterns there.

If you want to get a pattern for the knitter in your life, you can also access my original patterns on Ravelry (including the free ones).

Lastly, check out Hancock Creative Shop in Guthrie this weekend to pick up some of these items in person-- they will be on display for this weekend only!  They have some other great gift ideas there as well.

Thanks for your support this season, and I will post more deals as they become available.  Happy Happy Holidays!

Life Happens

You may have noticed it's been a little quiet around here lately -- I've had a lot going on with family in the past month or so, and sometimes you just need to take a step back for a little while, you know? On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, my grandmother, the center of our family, passed away.  She was a fun, strong-willed, loving lady, and family was everything to her.  We will miss her immensely!

I'm starting to get back in the swing of things and will get back to posting regularly soon.  We still have a lot of fungi to get through!

I hope you are all having a great holiday season.