We found a spot, not that far from us but requiring a bit of effort to get to, where I found the Holy Grail—Cortinarius sanguineus—in such abundance that this year I’m going to have more than just a sample dyepot.
By the time I found this population (I don’t want to call it a cluster, because the mushrooms weren’t exactly clustered), we were running out of time and daylight, so I wasn’t able to explore further. Next year I’ll know exactly where to go, a few metres above a little stream and in fairly deep shade, and I’ll walk all along that elevation, where these little beauties obviously love their surroundings.
The dyepot will be happening soon—I think silk will be appropriate for this one!
SHROOMWORKS 
Well, here’s a mushroom that we have in the east, as well!
They are beautiful and I found a spot this past spring that was very promising.
Thanks for the news! Have fun with the dye pot.
Those are lovely! We found some during the summer on an island in a river; but the stems were yellow. The scarlet gills amazing.
I had a quart-yogurt container full of them, and they dyed more then a half-pound of yarn with successive baths.
Have fun dyeing, I’m anticipating the pictures!
I just did samples of Dermocybe for a display at the Fungus Foray, and got such a beautiful rosewood Colorado with alum and a rich brown with rusty iron water. Thanks for the great in-situ photos, as the dried shrooms were collected by someone else and I want to search for a source now.
Where was your Fungus Foray? And what kind of terrain do Dermocybes favor in California? (I have family in the Bay Area but seldom get that way during mushroom season.)
nice specimens!!