Jacket Class...Day Three

Inspector Suki arrived early today to get some attention and check on progress. She feels she needs to guard Marcia's vest while she irons another strip.
Then there always sewing stitches to monitor.

Lynn had her vest almost finished today. She sewed some beautiful embellishment stitches on the center back panel and added strips of seed beads.
A small mola is going to serve as a pocket on the lower left.

Bev made great progress and her jacket is taking on a sort of Kimono like look.
And Mary's jacket just sparkles and she also added a touch of seed beads to her creation.
Beth managed to finish the outsides of her jacket. My colors are terrible and this is a much brighter piece but still quite subtle. Marcia was ready to cut out the sides by the end of the day. She also added seed beads to the red strips of the front. She will do a bit of quilting on the back panel to hold the pieces in place.

Beth has her outside pieces finished and does a bit of modeling.

And Mary shows her jacket off at the end of the day.

Class in Marci's Studio...Days One and Two

There were six of us enjoying Marci's wonderful new studio for a "Make Your Own Jacket" Class and give it a sort of "studio warming". I took sample jackets for a few styles and between the five of them they chose four different styles.
The first morning they set up, tried on jackets and traced off patterns.
Beth decided to make the Butterfly Jacket with the beautiful draped sleeves which was a surprise. This is Marci's great cutting table. And Inspector Suki came in to check out all the commotion.

In the middle of the day Bev had to stop and mount some molas on Marci's great flannel design walls so that making a final choice would be easier.

Beth got a head start with a beautiful Vietnamese batik scene and some strips she has sewn together for another project.
And Lynn began working with some beautiful batiks and a photographic image of flowers.
Mary choose a gorgeous Christmas theme collection.
And Bev settled on making three batiks the focus of her jacket.
Lynn's jacket begins to take shape.
Marcia is using a batik from China for the back of her Quilters Vest and some handwoven indigo from Thailand for the side panels.

By the end of the day Beth had the jacket back finished and Lynn was starting on the sleeves on the left.

Day Two:

Lynn brought in an interesting woven piece which she placed in the center of the back of her jacket. It works beautifully.
And Bev's jacket is starting to take shape. The mola wasn't square so she added some dark brown cotton to square it up.

And Mary's jacket is enhanced by some seminole strips she made last evening.
Marcia added some Indigo batiked strips to the front of the vest.
Lynn's front and back at the end of day two.
Bev made some real progress today.

Concrete Patio Update

The day after I returned from Panama it was time for the concrete pour for the patio. The workmen spread the rocks around that used to be in the nice neat pile in preparation for the trucks arrival. In order to miss the telephone and electric wires the truck drove in through the neighbors driveway.


The concrete pour "supervisor" Mark specified the correct mix for the pour...Number 6...whatever that means... and the pour began. The truck shifted position several times to pour the conrete in a new location.

And the workmen spread the concrete between pours.

A long straight board was used for leveling and for measuring the slight slant built into the conrete for rain runoff.

Almost done.
The major portion of the job took slightly over an hour, then it was time for the finishing touch with a heavy broom to give the concrete a bit of traction when wet.

The concrete was watered with a hose three times a day for three days to give it a harder finish.

Panama Trip...The End of the Story

I usually don't buy many large appliqued pieces since I prefer the more traditional molas. These extra large pieces were beautifully stitched and hard to resist. Birds seem to be the most popular design, followed by sea life. The two on the left are already sold.

These gorgeous murals are in the Administration Building in what used to be the Panama Canal Zone. Painted by William Van Ingen in 1915 they were restored in 1993. The first view is of the partially finished Mitler Gate. The Miraflores Locks culvert construction.

The Gatun Dam Spillway There are usually three or four small vendors with molas on this side street near Via Espana. This year I only found 2 molas to buy from them. There used to be several vendors around the corner in front of a major bank but they were all missing this year.

The view from my hotel roof.
My hotel pool.

I usually don't buy a lot of appliqued pieces but I found quite a few which I liked this year. And I was particularly captivated by a type I found this year which was heavily embroidered on top of the applique. They are fairly small pieces but just seem to glow.
This mola of a flute player had an unusual detail. All the striped pieces are not striped fabric, but appliqued strips set within appliqued cutouts.
This mola was part of a blouse made by my guide Orlando's daughter. It is probably the best mola I have ever purchased. Its certainly my favorite. The details are exquisite. The "spots" on the indians are made by cutting tiny holes and then turning them under with tiny stitches to reveal the fabric underneath. The mola on the other side of the blouse depicted the 1925 Revolution which freed the Kuna from Panama.