Shopping in Guatemala is a glorious experience.  You just never know when you are going to come across something wonderful.  I was sitting having a coke in one of my favorite cafes in Panajachel on Lake Atitlan and this woman appeared with a bag of handwoven textiles which she had made herself.  I had found a similar weaving a few years ago and made it into a bog coat.  The piece is long, woven in two parts and sewn together by hand with beautiful colored threads.  I didn't want to cut it so I made it into a long coat. 

Here is the textile similar to the one above which I made into the full length coat.  You can see the colored stitching where the maker sewed the two strips of weaving together to make the blanket.  The piece comes hemmed at both ends...by hand of course...which I found very convenient.

This photo shows the front of the coat which is draped a bit too much at the center in this photo.  It really hangs straight.  I had to add a strip of velvet in the front as the blanket wasn't large enough to make a coat.  With this design if you add a strip in the front at the bodice it ends up on the sleeves. 

When I travel to Santiago Atitlan  hoping to buy huipils I will usually find a few women who are interested in selling me one, after the appropriate long  involved rounds of bargaining. 

Market day in Santiago Atltlan on the shores of Lake Atitlan.  The women of the village make glorious huipils with embroidered birds.  Traditionally they were made by hand but now a number of the birds are embroidered by machine.  Their skill with this is still phenomenal.  On market day there is usually a stall or two of huipils made for  women who don't have time to make one or the occasional tourist.   Its primarily a market for locals.

This coat was made from a Guatemalan weaving (back panel) Guatemalan fabrics, tiny Guatemalan dolls and Guatemalan needlepoint belts.  The lining is Guatemalan ladies at the market...an Alexander Henry fabric.

 I go to the villages around Lake Atitlan to buy as much as possible from the people who are making the textiles and beads which I love.  Here three young girls from Santiago Atitlan met the boat coming from across the lake and will be selling me some of the beads which they and their families made.

This stunning woman was selling some small items...I think bracelets or other jewelry...table to table in an open air restaurant in Panajachel.