Remembering My Sister

I saw this pillow on Etsy, being sold as a vintage design from the 70’s.

It made me think about the story behind that pillow because the one I have is so precious to me.

I’ve talked about my big family, five boys and four girls. I had two big sisters and one little one.

My big sisters were always making things, Tinka made dolls... so I did too. Robin did needlepoint... so I did too. I’m not sure if I had any influence on my little sister. She never did anything I told her to do.

I remember Robin working on this pillow, it had a lot of difficult stitches, and it took her a long time to get it done. She always had some needlepoint project going, so I did too. I don’t think I finished too many of them. But there is one I did finish, she had started it but didn’t get it done before she died. She was only 21.

She drowned in the river, and I still can’t figure out how she could have. We’ll never know what happened. If someone hurt her, I don’t think I even want to know who it was, after all these years, I don’t want to know that someone lived their life, while they took hers away, and took her away from us.

Robin was quiet, she wanted to be a writer, and she could sit and play the piano for hours. There were stacks of her piano books, The Beetles, Elton John, The Carpenters.

I was amazed she could read four books at once. I was lucky if I got through one book in an entire summer.

My mother drew this picture of Robin and me when I was just newborn. She was about five.

Mommy painted this when Robin was ten.

Here’s Robin’s high school senior picture, and pretty much how I remember her. I wished my hair was normal with just a bit of curl, like hers.

When I was growing up, I think I drove Robin crazy, but that was just kid stuff. She died so young, she didn’t have a chance to find out things aren’t such a big deal as they seem to be when you’re twenty-one.

When Robin died, I told myself that everything I do with yarn will be with her in my mind. And as each year passes, I wonder what we would be talking about, and what a great aunt she would have been for my daughter Cherry. Cherry loves to read, play the piano, and sew, just like Robin did.

She made me love yarn, and that’s why I’m a weaver.

Now for the doll in the picture, my big sister Tinka brought that home for me when I was little.