A bag in the making...

Apologies for not updating this blog for so long.. geez.. that was one quick year! Thing is I am doing a full on college degree and I have another blog that is currently taking up my time. Although the other blog has been mainly focused on art and college stuff recently I do post the occasional Tarot post on there, and life is all of a oneness anyway soo....

Anyway, I am still making my custom made Tarot bags, and have one on the go at the moment so I thought I would share a couple of images of a work in progress. This bag is a commission for a Thoth deck.

 

I have a 2 month college break coming up, so will be putting my efforts into my Tarot bags again, so if you are wanting a special one off bag, now would be a good time to ask :)

To celebrate the joy...

I have been playing with The Shining Tribe Tarot by Rachel Pollack. It is a deck that I was never attracted to when it was first released, but currently I am loving in. I managed to get a very cheap kit, and the book is great. Part of the reason why I decided to look at this deck again, was another book of Rachel’s called The Forest of Souls, which features this deck among others. I am reading the books by dipping in and having bites here and there – sometimes it’s the only way.
Anyway, I knitted a bag, in gorgeous thick wool in a kind of warm apricot pink… to celebrate the joy and colours of the shining tribe…

Mary and the Tower

Today I finally completed one of the Tarot Bags ordered long ago by my friend Felix. It was for the Mary El Tarot. I don't have this deck, there are a few cards I love but the other...mmmmeeeeehhhh. I based the bag on one of the cards I really like which is The Tower.
Mary El Tarot - The Tower card:

 

And this is the bag I designed and made for dear Felix:

A detail of the stitching:

 

 

Two Bags for Two Decks!

I was so excited about my  bags I received for my Bohemian Gothic Deck and Victorian Romantic deck that I decided I would share pictures of those instead of the card that I actually forgot to draw today. I did a long reading which kind of took my energy Tarot wise. Also today, I took my son and his mate to see The Hobbit, as it was released in New Zealand today. Hopefully my Hobbit deck will arrive before Christmas! I didn't watch the movie... not sure I could sit in a cinema that long, but Boo loved it. He thought it was much better than Lord of the Rings, and he knows those movies and the books extremely well. According to him they left way too much out of Lord of the Rings... including Tom Bombadil... unforgivable.

Anyway... I now have two *sister* decks with bags to match! I have loved the Bohemian Gothic since I first got a copy, and I tried to make a crazy patchwork bag in scraps of velvet and silks that I had, in a kind of Victorian style.... but then I decided I wanted to make the scraps I had sewn together into a cloth maybe. They looked so jewel like, and the deck does look really good spread on the piece I have made so far ...... so ...... when I saw this original Baba Studio bag up for trade I had to have it!

Bohemian Gothic Tarot and Bag

The Victorian Romantic second edition was only released recently, and I had no idea I would love it as much as I do. The bag for this is the Nine of Swords card design.... with a velvet back. Loving the velvet, wish the BoGo bag was velvet too! It's great to have these bags even though I am not really a matching kind of person. They are special. I do love to create my own tarot bags especially for my decks but its also nice to have some from special places... Prague in this case :)

Victorian Romantic Tarot and Bag

The Nine of Swords is one of my favourite cards in this deck, how she is out there on the edge, sleepwalking.... vulnerable and yet she is almost at the window. Will she wake before then? Will she make it? If you live life on the edge you never know when you may fall off, and yet it is this uncertainty that excites us. Even looking at this image gets my adrenalin going......  I don't think I will sleep with this bag under my pillow though... I am scared of heights ;-/

I am going to try using these two decks together and see how it works....... which will be the shadow? One would be inclined to think the BoGo would be darker,  but the VR has it's dark side too. Anyway, thats another post for another day.

Shroud for the Zombies!

A few days ago I received my long awaited  Zombie Apocalypse Tarot. Ok this is a large deck as Tarot decks go, but nowhere near as large as the box it came in!! Just look at this waste.... not to mention expensive shipping. Thankfully The Game Crafter are addressing the issue and were keen to hear the thoughts of Tarot collectors, which is good to hear. I shall continue to support them.. we all have to learn.

Large Box with Lots of Brown Paper ...... and Zombies!

So.. time to meet some of the Zombies.... I am actually very fond of them!

A few of the Zombies Up Close

 

 

 

Because the bag that came with the deck was very very flimsy and plastic-like and not at all a suitable place to keep such a collection of self respecting Zombies, I had to make them a special shroud.. of course! You can see part of it in the photo above... I dyed the inside to give a blood soaked bandage effect :-/

The photo below shows the gorgeous Zombie blood red Moon and the outside of their shroud, it was all made from old hand dyed and torn fabrics and a ton of free machine embroidery.

Zombies with Shroud

 

 

 

 

 

I did actually use real first aid gauze and bandages in the making of the shroud... I even sewed through my thumb once, so there may be a touch of blood in the mix too ;)

 

Close Up of Bloodied Bandage!

The last two photo's show the shroud wrapped around the deck, I stitched one end into a pocket so they dont fall out and get even more damaged!!

Zombie Shroud with Ripped Edges

Other Side of Shroud

And if you ever fancy a custom made shroud, wrap or bag for a special deck... I do make them to order, just give me a shout!

...... and more bags!

Three more bags I have made recently... for my very spoiled Tarot decks.

This is more of a wrap, than a bag, it is perfect for my Icelandic Tarot, and doubles as a spread cloth for up to 5 cards.

Icelandic tarot Wrap - Open

I love the size of these cards and their stark black and white contrast...I love its smudginess too :) 

Icelandic Knitted Tarot Wrap with Matching Cord.

I really love this little deck, and trying to get it back in its box was nigh impossible, but it looks great in this snuggly knitted wrap, and I made the cord from satin ribbons and wool, to match the cards. I love how the cord matches the backs of the cards.

Icelandic Tarot Wrap Closed

This next bag was for my Thoth tarot deck.... it needed a special bag and it needed to go with the deck. After a few trials this is what I ended up creating. I made the bag with layers of metallic and sheer fabric scraps, silks and lots of free machine stitching.

This photo shows the card that inspired the bag, the Two of Disks, or Change as it is labelled. The evolving circles give a feeling of movement and change.. transformation. The bag is padded and lined in cream coloured silk, which matches the edges of the cards.

Thoth Tarot Bag

My latest bag is this fluffy little beauty that I made for my newly beloved Tarot of the Silicon Dawn. It had to be fun and funky. It had to have colours from the deck in it, and some fluff, and dangly bits.... and it also needed to be soft and comforting.

Funky Bag for Tarot of the Silicon Dawn

I think the bag is perfect for this deck.... I like the way it's softness contrasts with the streetwise, futuristic feel of the deck, and yet the colours blend so well. The fluffy collar gives it added zing to fly with!

New Tarot Bags

I have been having some fun recently,  making new bags for my favourite decks.... knitting, stitching, crochet...... whichever medium seems to suit at the time.

Each deck has its own personality and has to choose where it wants to sleep when not working.... so the latest ones I have made are pretty eclectic in style!

I made one for my Witches tarot by Dugan & Evans, it is knitted in several different yarns and ribbons blended together. I tied it with torn silk and added a silver Moon charm inlaid with Paua shell.
The charm came from a pair of earrings I had in my twenties and wore and loved for many years, so it adds some of my life to the deck too.

Bag for my Witches Tarot Deck

Then my Faeries decided they wanted a bag, and of course we know how fussy they can be! They had a ball choosing wools and ties, as well as some stones and charms that they insist live in the bag with them!!

The Faeries' Bag with Bling!

They wanted lots of mossy textured wool and although I made them a lovely silk tie they wanted this purple and gold blingy cord which they found on my workshop floor, instead!!

Faeries' Bag

Once the Faeries were happy.. I had the bag bug....

I found a silver Ankh that had been given to me a few years ago by a close friend. The Ankh reminded me of my Ludy Lescot deck.. so ta-da..! another bag was born!

Bag for Ludy Lescot Tarot

The dark colours and the frayed hand dyed lace and muslin ties and the sombre colours seem to suit this deck very well.

Ludy Lescot Tarot Bag with Lace Tie

Watch this space for more of my bags, and I do custom make bags in many styles to suit different decks. One of these days I will get a proper shop online but until then feel free to contact me if you have any requests!

Triple Moon Tarot Bag & Cloth

I had a great time today making a special order Tarot bag for a trade.

I made the Triple Moon Goddess cloth, and one of the tribe fell for it, and asked for a bag to match...!

The cloth is made of four different cottons and appliqued with the moon symbols which I originally cut from card templates using a small tea plate! The back is lined with a soft deep indigo cotton which I dyed by hand, it has an almost velvet like feel. It measures approximately 24 inches square, so is great for a full moon layout, or astrology spreads. Unlike my Deviant Moon cloth I didn't have a particular deck in mind when I made this cloth, so I guess it was meant to fly off to its current owner.

Triple Moon Goddess Tarot Cloth

Luckily I had enough fabric left to make the bag to match the cloth perfectly! The bag is large enough to hold a standard Tarot deck with the cloth wrapped around it, as was requested. I cant wait until it reaches its new home!!

Triple Moon Tarot Bag & Cloth

And here is the back of the bag.... you cant see the lining in these pics, but it is actually lined with the same hand dyed cotton as the back of the reading cloth.

Back of Tarot Bag

More Tarot Bags.....!

Just had to show you some more bags, before they all go. These are my Jester Bags, suitable for keeping all kinds of magical objects safe. I like the flat bottoms but for Tarot decks some people prefer them to be made envelope style. They are great for crystals or runes too. I like to use fun contrasting fabrics and add bells for some jingle to the points. My Faerie Deck is rather attracted to the one on the left with the purple lining! The red one I traded for a gorgeous Rabbit Tarot.. (more about that in another post.)

Magical Jingling Jester Bags

 

 
I had an idea of making bags for each of the four elements... to suit various decks, or just because! The one showmn below is crocheted in many weights and textures of yarn, from really fine and whispy to soft and chunky silk thread. This bag was my Air element bag. I prurposely had lacey stitches to give the feeling of airiness, and the colours were chosen to match different aspects of the sky and clouds.

Air Element Tarot Bag

 

Next another knitted bag, but very different from my Deviant Moon one.... I taught myself this lovely leafy/tree style stitch and knitted this bag using an oatmeal coloured pure wool. I am currently using it as nesting space for my Well Worn Path and Hidden Path oracle decks, which I like to use together.

Knitted Tarot Bag with Tree Stitch

 

 

Now this beauty is my Fire element bag, I love this, it feels soooo good! The main part of the bag that holds the deck is crocheted in soft orangey cotton yarn, and I added a gorgeous flamelike eyelash fibre into the mix to crochet the flap! I must take another pic of it closed to show it in it's full glory. Not sure which deck to give this bag to yet, currently it is being checked out by the Cat People!

Fire Element Tarot Bag