My costume for the birthday polka party was a work of art, hand-crafted by fellow shipmates Mary C. and Paul T.
Growing up, my sisters and I all had Polish dance costumes (though not specifically the polka kind), crafted by my mother and my aunt. Unfortunately, the few I still had were in storage in Rochester.
A Google search for “Polish polka costume” yielded a picture that we used as our model, though we modified it a bit.
The adventure began with a run to a fabric store in Barbados, where Paul knew exactly what to get and how much of it. The sales lady seemed amused by our project; Mary promised to send her a picture of the finished product.
They spent many hours on the design, cutting, pinning, measuring, stitching, and fitting. Lots of fitting. I had no idea how complex the process was!
Mary’s spiffy sewing machine, which came on board with her, came in handy for the project.
And voila! They made a dancer out of me…
They spent many days on this labor of love, for which I am forever grateful.
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