Living on a remote island in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean requires depending on your resourcefulness almost all the time. The stores in Micronesia were very similar to the old-fashioned one-stop store in "Little House on the Prairie." You could buy almost everything in one of these stores, but there wasn't much of anything at any one time.There were a few canned goods, a few types of hardware, a little fresh produce. One had to be very resourceful to identify what was useful. You could never predict what you might find in the store. But, interestingly enough, due to the proximity to Asia and India there were bolts and bolts of summer fabric: fabric of all types, colors and weaves. Fabric did not spoil or damage easily on the long boat ride to Guam and the trans-shipment to Palau. There was always a selection of colorful bolts to peruse. If you could sew, you could fill your days with making things.
In one of my recent blogs I mentioned how I made clothes for my baby girl out of fabric scraps. Well I pretty much had to sew everything I wanted out of these tropical patterns. The photo above shows a cover that I made for my bamboo furniture in our little apartment when the original fabric wore out. I am sure that I found this quite the interior design solution.
If you keep reading, you will notice that the fabrics in the photo below are the same as the one on my baby girls outfit. This is a photo of the bedroom. Yes, the bedroom! I must have loved the pattern. I am sure that I thought it was very stylish and a wonderful example of creative interior decorating.
I must have had absolutely no taste after years of living on a remote tropical island. Geeese!!
You are certainly a good sew person, though.
ReplyDeleteOh, my. Love the cover on the bamboo furniture, but the second photo kind of hurts my eyes.
ReplyDeleteYou had good taste - you just had to work with what was at hand - which is the best kind of creativity!
ReplyDeletemy mother would call the 2nd print "busy!" it must feel wonderful to know you can make anything you want! i would be at such a loss if i had to make everything i needed/wanted.
ReplyDeletethe photo of you daughter crawling is adorable.
Lemme see, the 70's? early? My mom made bright covers for our Rataan furniture cushions too. But that was in the 50's!
ReplyDeletehahaha I love it. It's amazing you were able to create such a thing, loud and busy or not!
ReplyDeleteI admire anyone who makes clothes. I just went on my first shopping spree for my first grandchild (due in May). What a trip down memory lane, but all new at the same time.
ReplyDeleteFlower power!
PS That's wild that you remember those terrier dog magnets. I guess they were a thing then. I thought it was just something special only my grandmother had.
I would never have noticed that the material was the same!
ReplyDeleteI was a young mother in a rural Dorset village, and I seem to remember similar fabrics! I sewed too, but that was out of thriftiness.
My eldest daughter now has my sewing machine - she is expecting her first baby in June, I wonder whether she will sew clothes? Despite living in the centre of London, she may well do it - just for the creativity - should she ever find the time!
Very Clever and in style for that time.
ReplyDeleteI LOVED the post with the four of you. :)
XXOO