Folly Beach is a favorite source of inspiration for me. It is a barrier island and known as "The Edge of America," which inspired the name "On the Edge Studio." I enjoy working with 3 different themes- Traditional, Nature, and Mixed Media. This blog is a way to show my quilts and share some of their stories with family and friends.











Monday, August 12, 2013

Guatemalan Fabrics

One of the nice things about traveling is the opportunity to check out the local textiles. A few years ago I went to Guatemala. I loved the textiles there.  They are hand woven cottons with a lot of bold color. Here are some of the fabrics I bought.
 
 
They are woven in different lengths and sold to be used as clothing or carriers, as seen below.
 
 
 
Shown above is a top, made by a Guatemalan woman by weaving three narrow panels of the handwoven fabric together and then sewing them together and cutting out an area for the neck. The fabric looks like it was embroidered but it is part of the weaving.
 

These are some trims on the left, used as belts or ties. On the right are some drawstring bags made of the cloth which were sold containing Guatemalan coffee. Don't you just love the little doll figures on some of the bags?  On the bottom are some exquisite hand woven pieces that look embroidered. I am not sure I could bring myself to cut them.
 
I found most of the fabric to be much thicker than what I like to use for quilts. So I planned to use the fabric for bags or jackets.  It was very hard for me to bring myself to cut the fabric. But last year, I made a set from one length of fabric to make a tote bag to use when I travel with a matching duffel bag. I love the duffel and use it often. The tote bag has not enough body and I find all my pens and stuff fall out of all those pockets I spent so much time planning and making.
 
 
 Last week I finally cut into another length of fabric to make myself a new purse.  It is from a pattern I have made twice before and really like, with a few modifications.
 

There was plenty of fabric left to make a new wallet to carry all those member/store cards.  This is a quick and easy pattern that I really like.
 
 
The one on the left is my old, well worn one.