On this image you can see where I want the bowl to go- lower than the handle which will run closer to the top of the blank. I want a shallow angle from handle to bowl to maximise the length of continuous wood grain in the handle at this point

I've done a rough drawing of the spoon here, looking at what will be the bottom of the spoon. I've not invested too much time on the design yet as I like this to emerge as I understand the nature of the wood and the direction of the grain as I'm carving it. I will need to run against the direction of the grain at some point along the handle if I want it to be straight because of the slight banana-ing of the grain that the darker coloured pith makes so clear in this sycamore branch.

I'm now going to start hewing the blank from behind the drawn out shape of the bowl along the length of the handle. By taking a series of small cuts along the edge of the blank I can remove wood quickly but in a controlled manner. From this angle I am looking at the bottom of the spoon although I will remove a layer of wood to get beyond the pith and any chance of checking (small cracks appearing as the blank dries out).

So after a little bit of hewing the blank is finally beginning to take on spoon-like tendencies. At least it is possible to see which end is the bowl and which end is the handle now!

I've now started to use the axe to cut down from the outer curved surface of the spoon blank to begin to create the surface that will become the lip of the bowl. This immediately introduces some of the height difference I want to see between the bowl and the handle