At the beginning of the year I decided to do a few "quilts for good". In my mind I would either sell them and donate the money to a nonprofit or give quilts to people who in my mind, do good deeds. With February being Black History Month, I set my sights on it being my first opportunity to "Quilt for good". I started off by purchasing some
Ankara fabric remnants from
Zesty Couture. Then I saw the
SoMa Quilt pattern from
Sarah Jean Makes come along my email as a pattern test call and the design was the most perfect match I could have imagined.
There was something about the zig zag like design in the
SoMa Quilt that evoked the stylized lines of an Ankara design and I could see using a solid black for the grid to make a striking design. The SoMa Quilt pattern is a really fun and fast sew. I was able to complete mine in 10 days (including quilting) - that was working on the quilt in small spurts here and there. The pattern uses the 8 at a time method for HSTs and there is some strip piecing.
I went to Jo-Ann's to get a backing for a quilt and while I was waiting for my number to be called to get my fabric cut, I browsed the aisle of marked down fabrics. On that Aisle, I spotted this black fabric with a gold speckle on it. It was regal yet had a cool grunge effect and I picked it for the background fabric.
As I pieced the quilt, I decided that it needed a black backing and that the quilting on it also needed to be black. I had my thread ordered and in my hands before I even finished the top. I love how the
SoMa Quilt has patterns that reveal themselves as you make the quilt. I love how the pattern creates these boxes with the half square triangles making a diamond inside the diamond of either the feature fabrics or of the background fabric.
The fabrics from Zesty Couture were all Polyester blend fabrics. Some had a very soft feel while others were more stiff like a cotton woven. Some pieces had paper labels attached and they were easy to remove with heat from the iron. I then rubbed the areas using adhesive remover pads used for medical purposes to take any remaining sticky residue off.
The colors were so vibrant and I loved the variety of prints that I received in the remnant packs that I ordered. I used a Black Speckles Ruby Star Society wide back for the backing and used the excess for the binding. It was the perfect fabric to compliment the top.
Shortly after I began sewing the
SoMa Quilt, I received an email from the
Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum that informed me that
Opal Lee would be the featured speaker at the February Upstander Speaker Series event. I knew right then that I had to give this quilt to Ms. Opal Lee.
Here is Ms. Opal Lee and me with the quilt. I had the quilt rolled up and tied with a ribbon. One of the museum employees asked if we could unwrap it for photos, so we did. I thought we would unfold it completely and hold it up. Ms. Opal Lee quickly put me in my place when she saw that I let the corner near me touch the floor. She said the quilt was too precious and shouldn't be touching the floor. She told me to pick up my corner. She then said that we would hold it like this for photos.
All of the patterns by Sarah Jean Makes are 10% off through Sunday (02/19) with the code SOMA10. Sarah's patterns are well written and each one is inspired by an area of San Francisco! The SoMa Quilt is inspired by the South of Market district. I have made the Lands End Quilt which is inspired by the Lands Ends Area - one of the few areas of San Francisco I remember visiting.
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