I’ve had an idea. It was the sort of idea that makes John (my producer/cohost/love of my life) sigh because he knows it will result in more work for him. It was a good one though so he sighed again and took pictures and fiddled with my site all day.

I’m giving away a tarot deck complete with a custom made bag. Everyone who posts a link to my site will qualify for the drawing. Just email me at lupa@lupaloo.net and let me know where you posted so I can put your name in the hat.

The bag is made of recycled suede and lined with washable silk also recycled.

Here’s a link to a review of the deck with a few images of the cards there as well.

Winner will be announced during next Wednesday night’s show.

My beloved Brian Froud Faeries were gifted to me several years ago. I like for my decks to have their own special bags and the faeries needed something special. I had just learned to spin and weave wool and when I consulted the deck, they demanded that I spin and weave for them.

I had been toying with some raw wool from a sheep I met once named Charlie Brown. Raw wool is interesting to work with. You have to card it and then spin it. Best to spin it “in the grease” which means without washing first. That way it still has a lot of lanolin in it and spins more easily. First you spin it, then you ply it together into two or three ply yarn to make it stronger and then you wash it carefully by hand to set the twist. Or if you’re very careful you can spin fine yarn that is strong enough to weave just like that and wash it afterwards. I used a simple frame loom and taught myself to weave after learning to spin with a homemade drop spindle and books from the library.

This lovely brown bag with it’s unique hand spun texture in exactly the right size for the faerie deck was the happy result. The faeries were happy, Charlie Brown was happy and I no longer had little nagging voices in my head pleading with me to hurry up and finish it.

Do you like it? Where do your cards live when you aren’t using them? Are they happy?