Sisters

It’s very peculiar that when we were kids and teenagers, the “handy” one was my sister. I remember her making wonderful bracelets during her study hours, piercing her earlobes and even her belly button during those same study hours and later on cutting fabric and sewing like a madman on the floor of her room and using her knee to push the pedal, as if she had a stump instead of a leg. At that time I couldn’t be furthest from the handmade world, and the only artistic thing I did was drawing, which I abandoned overtime, like most  children.

I think my feminine side (handmade stuff and maternal feeling) didn’t survive my most tender childhood, as you can see here, where I’m feeding one of my dolls.

I was good with this one. My favorite one just ended with its face completely covered with ink and another one was tied up several times because my grandmother told me that the dwarf (it was a Snowhite darf) was going to hit me with his hammer in my sleep because I didn’t want to eat (I promise I will find that picture one day).

I was far more interested in cars and technology, which developed later in my engineering studies and some other nerd preferences.

In the meantime, my sister daydreamed about becoming a fashion designer. She wanted to enroll in some classes about it but my father thought that some job about business and administration was going to be much more profitable, so my sister’s dreams ended up there and she never ever worked as my father expected, after spending two full years with her studies being the first of her class.

Time passed and we somehow switched roles. I started crocheting almost 4 years ago, knitting 2 years ago and sewing just last year. My sister grew impatient and never finished a crocheted hat that wanted to make for her just born daughter (I guess having children doesn’t  help to be patient). And not only that, but during these last years my sister demonstrated a completely lack of appreciation for handmade things. It made me very sad because she used to be such a skilful and crafty person, and I wondered where all that had gone (I’m not only remembering skirts and dresses, but also a reversible bikini, hey). Happily she surprised me again by requesting a pair of handknitted socks this past winter and I think she loved the handbag I made for her.