The one thing I love the most about this time of year is the anticipation of Autumn and with that comes my love of mushrooms!
I love to eat them, photograph them, observe them and of course crochet them. There is just something so magical and creative about mushrooms that takes me back to childhood walks in the forests of southern England where I was born, where I would imagine fairies dancing around rings of mushrooms. "It's a fairy ring!" I would exclaim in excitement. It all just seemed so magical.
Fairy rings are actually pretty amazing creations. Formed by a single spawn of a mushroom in the centre that sends out a subterranean network of fine, tubular threads called hyphae. These hyphae grow evenly in all directions and new mushrooms grow up from the ground to form the ring we come to see. The centre of the ring eventually dies off, but this outer ring lives on and grows bigger every year. A fairy ring found in Belfort, France, is thought to be the largest ring ever found and is approximately 600 metres in diameter and is over 700 years old! These magical creations have often come with folklore tales, either good omens or bad omens, sometimes believed to be a portal to the fairy realm and the work of witches. Do you dare to step inside the ring?
Folklore aside, mushrooms are also pretty nutritious to eat, as long as you avoid the poisonous ones of course, as edible mushrooms are packed with dietary fiber and essential amino acids. They provide a significant amount of B1, B2, B12, C, D and E vitamins, trace minerals such as zinc and selenium and to boot are low in calories and fat. Mushrooms are also an important source of biologically active compounds with potential medicinal value such as betaglucans. Scientists have studied the best way to cook them as well to keep all these benefits intact and it seems microwaving and grilling is the best way to go, and if you want to fry them, try it with a little olive oil to boost their benefits.
So just how many different mushrooms have I designed so far? And how many more can I add to that collection? Let's take a look!
It all started with a bachelorette party. One of my old friend's sister was getting married and for her bachelorette party she asked if I could make twenty or so Agaric mushrooms as gifts to give away because they both just loved them so much. Of course I delighted in this project and designed and crocheted my very first mushroom, which is still popular today!
Agaric Mushroom
This mushroom is actually known as a Fly Agaric mushroom and is probably the most iconic of all mushrooms, even appearing in Super Mario, with its large white-gilled, white-spotted and usually red appearance, but it actually has several known variations or subspecies that have yellow or even white tops. Of course the bright red appearance is a clue to just how poisonous this little chap is.
I've actually designed a few of these in different sizes. You can find this particular one shown above in my
Autumn Fall eBook here or you can watch the various tutorials below...
We also have a mini version!
And an even smaller micro version!
The Garland Roundhead
Native to Europe and North America, this mushroom tends to be found in lowland pastures or lawns, usually in small groups or more likely just by itself and is known for its yellowy-brown tinge. It's often mistaken for other Agaricus species and can be somewhat poisonous.
This crochet mushroom appears in my
Autumn Fall eBook, which includes a ton of other nature creations as well.
Portobello Mushroom
This edible mushroom, and one of my personal favourites to munch on, is native to grasslands in Eurasia and North America, but is cultivated worldwide and appears as either brown or white. Its commonly found in fields or grassy areas usually following rain from late spring to autumn, but can resemble a few deadly or poisonous lookalikes so be careful!
This crochet mushroom also appears in my
Autumn Fall eBook, which includes a ton of other nature creations.
So what next? I think I'm curious to get creative with different Agaric shapes, maybe design some fairies and bring in a little mushroom magic? What do you think? Which is your favourite from this collection? Come join in the conversation over on our
Instagram.
Happy crocheting!