One good turn deserves another

 
Remember how happy I was a few weeks back when I received all those lovely FQ's of Elizabeth Scott's 'Red Rose Farm' fabric directly from Elizabeth herself? Well I was desperate to get them cut up and sewed back together again as soon as possible!
And like everybody else recently, I have been so heartbroken and really shocked to see the devastation in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami there. And I knew it wouldn't be long before some generous quilters started to organise quilts for Japan on their blogs.
So I decided that this was the perfect project to use my freebies on. What better way to celebrate good fortune than to spread good fortune around and make a quilt for somebody in Japan who has lost everything, as so many must have.

I have been really admiring this Doll Quilt by Mary on Lake Pulaski (along with many more in this wonderful swap group), and wanted to have a go at the Whirligig pattern. I have just had a few extra days off work, which has been bliss, so I got to work cutting up the lovely fabric on Friday morning.

By lunchtime Saturday the quilt top was finished! Here it is hanging on the line in a bit of hazy sunshine. We have been having amazing spring weather in the UK and this quilt feels very spring like too. Of course I still have to baste and quilt it (next weekend) but it has been great to have the time to get on and finish the top all in one go.
There seem to be a lot of different appeals just starting up for quilts or quilt blocks for Japan. Valentina told me about one at Quiltsalott. And Hardy Party of Five has started a group on Flickr. I'm sure there are lots of small ways to help without having to make a whole quilt.

I was enjoying working with Elizabeth's beautiful fabric so much and had a few whirligigs left over, so I decided to make my March Tag Square Bee block for Shannon with them. She had asked for greens and yellows, so these fabrics were perfect!

But I still had some whirligigs left over (because I made a few mistakes with cutting, duh), and I really was supposed to spend some of my time off making more cushions for my shop, so...

I made whirligig cushions too!

Here are the backs, I used pattern book rejects for these.
But then I still had more scraps left over from cutting strips up, so with extras from my scrap box I made a couple of large cushions. A string one...

And a coin one! I took these in to work with me today and they look so bright and cheerful in the shop.

I feel really energised after a good rest and being so productive in the sewing room. I Just hope this feeling lasts long enough to actually finish the quilt!

P.S. Val, if you are reading this, please put an email address on your blogger account! I would love to reply to your comments but have NO WAY of contacting you! Or email me separately through my profile.