Wow, wow, wow! This mushroom is a glimmering gem to find in the forest and so much fun to work with in the dye studio. It loves an alkaline dye pH9-10 and best results are when you add the sodium carbonate within the first 5-10 minutes. I keep my temperatures below 170 degrees because I have been told that the blue pigment starts to break down at higher temperatures. The most exciting result was the pigment. Using my new lake technique with high alkaline dye baths performed flawlessly. I didn’t add any sodium carbonate, only alum and it precipitated perfectly and mulled easily making a supple, soft paint.