Got a custom quilt order this week from a local lady who began collecting mola blouse panels while in the Peace Corps in Panama a few decades ago. This project includes several firsts and I’m really looking forward to it. Normally I create custom memorial quilts from clothing that I carefully deconstruct and then sew into blocks that are joined to form the quilt top. The mola blouse panels are already blocks, being rectangular and of similar size. Another first is that, in addition to this being a memory quilt rather than a memorial quilt, I actually got to meet with the client to discuss the project and plan the layout. What a treat!
Mola blouse panels are intricately appliqued and embroidered by Kuna women. They are connected to a yoke and form the body of the blouse. The panels adorn both the front and back of the blouse and are usually similar or on the same theme. According to my research, many of the panels are from blouses actually worn by the Kuna women who deconstruct the garment and sell the panels when they tire of the blouse. These panels entrusted to me memory quilt creation are simply unbelievable in person! I applique and embroider and I can tell you, the detail and quality of the stitching is incredible.
I took a few pictures and am sharing them. Please keep in mind – I’m a quilter and a writer, not a photographer! But these pictures should give an idea of the detailed stitching in these beatiful panels.
For more info on the Kuna people and mola panels, check out the University of Missouri
Museum of Anthropology site.
Here are before and in-progress pictures. The first is just the layout, photographed from the side, and the whole top row is missing - there are three more panels outside the picture on the left. The challenge was in getting the panels to fit together with an even outer edge while filling in the center.
This second photo is the same layout but with the sashing in progress. The panels will be thinly sashed giving the impression that they are swimming in a sea of black. I can't wait to see it when it's all done!
I discovered Craftsy a couple of months ago and I'm hooked! What I like best besides the quality and reasonable price is that my classes NEVER expire. That's right - I can come and go as I please and as my schedule allows. I'm already enrolled in almost a dozen classes but there are so many more I'd love to take - I just have to find the time...
My local quilt shop is coordinating a challenge to help the American Cancer Society and Relay for Life. Participants are given a packet of fabrics from which to create a 12½” block. The blocks will then be sewn together to create a sampler quilt to be raffled as a fundraiser for Relay for Life. What a great idea!
As the printing on the fabric was faint, I darkened it with a pigma pen. As usual, I didn’t manage to think to do this BEFORE I sewed the block together. Oh no – I waited until it was completely done so the pressure was on! Had I messed up my tracing, it would have been back to the beginning. But luck was with me and I stayed on the lines.
If you have items that you just can’t part with but that are no longer usable as is, consider whether they can be upcycled. Think throw pillows or quilts, such as the one pictured here. Check out my Custom Memorial Quilts blog for ideas. Just click on the specific project pages on the right. And if you’d like a quilt made from your clothing, I’d be happy to help – see details on my website, CustomMemorialQuilts.com.
I am especially impressed with the stitching on this one with all those little points that are turned and stitched by hand. Really intricate.
The Kuna women often use a mixture of traditional motifs and modern themes when creating the Mola panel designs. 
The mola quilt top is done! Actually it has been for a couple of days but I’m just now getting around to posting the pictures. I’m VERY pleased with the way it has turned out.
Anyway, here are some close-up shots of the upper right and lower left sections. And yes, the upper right was taken from the other side so is directionally opposite of the other pictures.
To build this quilt, I concentrated first on the center panels that were of the most importance to the customer and worked out from there, adjusting as necessary as I went along. As there was no trimming area on the long, skinny rectangular panel, I used it as the starting point and pieced around it.
Initially I chose to err on the side of caution and allowed myself plenty of room for adjustment by opting for sashing that I knew was wider than necessary. I certainly didn’t want to get to other portions of the quilt and find out that I’d have to cut into part of a panel’s design to make it fit into place! After the upper right was pieced, however, it became clear that the first section needed to be tightened up. So I set about un-sewing and moved things up by about an inch.
Here are before and in-progress pictures. The first is just the layout, photographed from the side, and the whole top row is missing - there are three more panels outside the picture on the left. The challenge was in getting the panels to fit together with an even outer edge while filling in the center.
This second photo is the same layout but with the sashing in progress. The panels will be thinly sashed giving the impression that they are swimming in a sea of black. I can't wait to see it when it's all done!
