Can I interest you in some shrooms?

OK, when it comes to eating mushrooms, no fungus for me, thanks. They just feel a little too rubbery. But as a design motif, I'm all for our little fungal friends. So I'm pleased to offer this vintage mushroom appliqué pattern (PDF) for your downloading and stitching delight. It come from The New Barbara Taylor Book of Quilting, which I believe to be in the public domain.* (I didn't include all the generic text that's below—just use your favourite appliqué technique!)

The pattern includes two blocks, one with a large mushroom and one with a cluster of smaller shrooms. I whipped up the big one with some scraps I had lying around, taking the pattern's advice of using dot fabric for the cap.

I thought the light blue background updated the colour scheme a bit (the booklet wasn't exactly full colour, to be fair). But then I bought a chunk of this Japanese fabric 'cause it seemed perfect to use with the pattern:

So that sent me to the stash to find some coordinating prints. All well and good—I had some stuff that'll work well. But then I stopped by an estate sale and picked up a bag of scraps. Lo and behold...

Mushrooms! In the original colour scheme of the appliqué pattern! The one with the windmills and rabbits and sheep along with the mushrooms was the one that sold me on this particular bundle of scraps; the other print was a treasure hidden inside. There was also a small chunk of this brown one, which could work with the Japanese fabric:

So I'm not sure where to focus my fungal efforts. Because, of course, I have no other appliqué projects on my plate, no other quilting to speak of, and certainly no gifts to make as the clock swiftly ticks down to Chrimbo.

Here's another scrap that was in the bag—if only there were more of it! It's just a chunk of about 3" x 8".

If they're supposed to be mice, those are awfully big ears. Whatever they are, I like 'em.

* There is no copyright notice, and the ads indicate it was printed during the 1923–1989 period for which that means public domain according to this chart (and yes, I checked for registration).