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Further thoughts from Eve

As you work up Eve’s Apple Tote – or any other tote or handbag (felted or otherwise), for that matter – here is some further food for thought that original woman might well have offered:

The Base: The beginning, the base, the bones – whether of a bag or of life, are the essence of a structure. In the beginning, when Adam was all alone, it is said that I was created from his rib. Now, how lovely is that? The feminine is separated from the masculine and crafted from a rib bone, which protects the heart. You might say that my - woman’s - essence is of the truth of the heart, that I am the protector of the heart’s intentions! Hmmm... What do you know?...

Growing the sides: This whole business about the knowledge of good and evil is a tricky one. In fact, one can know the difference between these opposites, but making the right choices which lead to right action on a soul level, which then blossoms into wisdom, is quite another matter – and one grows up by learning them, believe me! But, probably as you do, I experience this whole process one thought, one intention, one action at a time, one after another, much like growing the sides of this bag – one repetitive stitch after another, changing colors when needed, creating a unique, distinctive pattern, bag, person ....

Handles: Handles... Handling things... Oh, my goodness! We bit into that apple, and a whole new world of possibilities opened up to both myself and Adam. So how did we handle it? We denied it ever happened, then we blamed someone else and each other. Too scary to do otherwise, of course. Sound familiar? How does one go from blaming to carrying it oneself? Well, I found out, as you also probably have, that creating ways to handle things so that we can carry them comfortably is part of the process of growing, and of growing to know oneself.

Felting the bag: You know, in Hebrew, the original world for woman was ‘Esha’, which is what I was called before I had a name. ‘Esha’, as it happens, means ‘the fire within’. And I’ve noticed over the years that there is something about this ‘fire within’ which is able to subtly ‘cook’, transform, and solidify, changing the texture and weight of things, much as the felting process changes the flimsy crochet bag we’ve just made into a solid, thick, strong container.

Finishing up: Being curious and gathering knowledge can lead to creating wondrous things. As a creative person yourself, you probably also know that knowledge and creative energy has to be gathered, held and transported – which, of course, means that you need a container strong enough to hold all your apples so that they don’t spill out, scatter, or worse, rot. It is good to know that you and I – and your lovely new apple tote – will be able to contain and carry all we need.

Ever inquisitively yours, as always,

Eve