Market Day Steps 3 and 4

Once my grandmother rather pooh-poohed my working on little quilts - anything less than a bed-size quilt was wasted effort, as far as she was concerned. Of course she came from an era in which quilts were made out of necessity. With a hard-to-heat house full of children and beds, using precious time to make a little wall hanging or table topper was simply unheard of. Quilts covered beds and kept the family warm through the long cold winters. I try to imagine the necessity of keeping everyone warm by hanging the quilts around the wood stove and then dashing upstairs to climb in bed with that warmth to wrap around them. Times certainly have changed.

Despite what Grandma (God rest her sweet soul) might think, I am making another little quilt. Well, actually two - same quilt in two sizes.

It is a bit addicting, too. The steps are so simple, and I tell myself I will go upstairs to do the next step, and I end up doing two. And then I might just go ahead a cut out yet another step, so it will be ready to sew the following day. This allows me to use my bits of time here and there and see real progress. I like that.

Here are the third and fourth steps of the Market Day quilts I am working on. Refer to yesterday's post to find links to 2 blogs that inspired this effort.

Step 3 for Large Version

Step 3 for Small Version

Step 4 for Large Version

Step 4 for Small Version

Simple units are used to create these little quilts. I can't wait to get them all finished so that I can lay the entire blocks out. They have a very patriotic quality to them, with the use of red, white and blue fabric. This makes me think I will stay busy on them so that they are done by Memorial Day and Independence Day. Additional seasonal decorations are, in the words of Martha Stewart, a good thing.

Happy Quilting, Friends!