Happy Thursday! Today I have a quilt finish and free quilt tutorial to share! This quilt has been seven years in the making, so I'm really excited to have it finished and up on the blog today!


I started this quilt back in 2014! When my sample yardage of Dreamin' Vintage* arrived, it was the first thing I cut out. This isn't a complicated quilt by any means, so I'm not sure why it took me so long to finish it. I cut it out and it sat untouched for many years. Finally in 2020 I pulled it out and was determined to finally finish it.

Dreamin' Vintage was my favorite collection that I designed, but for some reason I don't have any quilts made from it. They've all ended up gifted to someone else! So this one I am for sure keeping for myself. :)


I designed the quilt as a free pattern to go along with the fabric collection, but had always intended on making it available here on my blog too. The design is based on my warm cool half-square triangle quilts (see that quilt along here: Warm Cool HST Quilt Along). I love working with the contrast that warm vs cool colors brings. If you're unsure which colors typically read warm and which read cool, check out my post all about it here: The Art of Choosing: Warm vs. Cool


I took this quilt along with one other home with us this past July to photograph. I usually go home at least twice a year, so quite a few of my quilts are photographed on this white barn at my parent's house. With the pandemic we were unable to go home in 2020, so it felt good to bring quilts home with us this summer! The entire quilt is made from my Dreamin' Vintage* collection that I designed for Art Gallery Fabrics.


Since these fabrics were inspired by vintage sheets that I'd thrifted, it felt like the perfect time to use the "Pyrex Stems" quilting design for this quilt. The quilting was done by Melissa Kelley of Sew Shabby Quilting. This quilting pattern is based on one of my very favorite pieces of vintage pyrex called "Stems". I think it's such a great match for this quilt! See the vintage pyrex piece below:


Now, onto the tutorial! I originally wrote it for using 1/4 yard cuts. I've added options for using fat quarters or for cutting from scraps or random yardage. Since the blocks are pretty big it goes together quick!

Golden Afternoon Quilt Tutorial

Sewing Level: Beginner Friendly
Finished Size: 70"x70"
Finished Block Size: 7" square

Golden Afternoon Quilt Materials:
- (10) 1/4 yard cuts of warm-colored fabrics (or 13 fat quarters*)
- (10) 1/4 yard cuts of cool-colored fabrics (or 13 fat quarters*)
- 4 1/2 yards of backing fabric
- 78"x78" piece of batting
- 1/2 yard of binding fabric

Golden Afternoon Quilt Cutting:
From each warm-colored fabric:
- Cut (5) 8" squares, for a total of 50 squares.

From each cool-colored fabric:
- Cut (5) 8" squares, for a total of 50 squares.

Other Cutting Options:
*If you'd like to use fat quarters:
- Cut a total of (50) 8" warm-colored squares
- Cut a total of (50) 8" cool-colored squares

If you'd like to use scraps or miscellaneous yardage:
- Cut a total of (50) 8" warm-colored squares
- Cut a total of (50) 8" cool-colored squares

Looking for supplies? Check out my Pattern Supplies and Resources post.

Golden Afternoon Quilt Instructions:

*Use a 1/4” seam allowance unless otherwise noted*
1. Make Half-square Triangle Blocks: Using a marking pen or a pencil, draw a diagonal line across the wrong side of all 8” warm-colored square. Place one warm-colored square and one cool-colored square right sides together. Stitch 1/4" on both sides of the marked line. Press and cut apart on the marked line to create two half-square triangles. Press seams open. Repeat with remaining squares to make a total of 100 blocks. Trim half-square triangles to 7.5” square.

2. Construct Quilt Top: Arrange blocks into 10 rows of 10 blocks each, according to the above diagram. Sew together blocks in each row Press seams in one direction, alternating direction every other row. Sew rows together. Press seams open.

3. Making Backing: Cut backing yardage in half. Press. Trim off the selvedge and sew your pieces together lengthwise. Press seam open.

4. Basting: Using masking or painter’s tape, tape the backing to a clean, hard surface, right side down. Spread out your batting on top of the backing. Smooth out any wrinkles. Carefully spread out your quilt top on top of the batting, right side up. Pin your top, I like to use curved safety pins, spacing the pins a few inches apart. Make sure that your pins are going through all three layers.


5. Quilting: Quilt as desired, by machine or by hand. Trim away excess batting and backing fabric.


6. Binding: Cut yardage listed for binding into 2.5” strips. Trim off selvedges and sew your strips together to form one long strip, press seams open. Fold in half lengthwise, pressing with your iron as you fold. Attach binding using your preferred method. For a detailed tutorial on attaching your binding to both sides by machine: Machine Quilt Binding Tutorial.


I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial! I have lots of other tutorials for everything from quilts, pillows, bags, and holiday items to informational series and techniques. Find all my tutorials here: Tutorials. My online shop is filled with patterns for quilts and bags. Find my patterns here: Jeni Baker Patterns

If you make something using one of my tutorials or patterns, I hope you'll tag me @jenib320 and use my hashtag #jenibaker on instagram!

Happy Quilting!

*Note: Any links marked with an asterisk in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click through and buy something, I make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.

April Monthly Report

It's time for the April monthly report. See past reports here.


My big accomplishment this month was finally finishing my kaleidoscope quilt top! I am so happy that it's put together and done. Now I just need to get a backing for it and I can send it away for quilting. I can't wait for it to be done. See more of this project here: Work in Progress: Kaleidoscope Quilt


I also finished my first quilt of 2021! And it's a long-term work in progress too, which is great. I'll be sharing more of this quilt soon, but it's made with one of my old fabric collections, Dreamin' Vintage.


My scrap project for this month was this tiny lined drawstring bag. I have had this canvas animal scrap for many years, just waiting to become something. I realized I needed a scrap project still for April so I grabbed it first and pulled a few things around it. The top edge of blue is actually the lining peeking out. It's a variation that can be found in the expansion pattern. I didn't have a scrap big enough for the lining that matched the focal print very well, so I used the wrong side of the fabric as the right side! I used 3/8" cotton twill and 3/4" beads to finish it.

You can find the patterns, twill, and beads all in my shop here:
- Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern
- Lined Drawstring Bag Expansion Pattern
- Cotton Twill Tape
- Round Wooden Beads


Managed to finish another weaving. This one used a very special skein of wool/mohair blend yarn that I've been hanging on to for a while. More details for this project are on my ravelry, here.


To keep myself accountable for my stash goals, I track my yardage for fabric and yarn each month. Read more about how I track here. Here is how I did in April:

April Fabric
Used up: 12.25 yards
Brought in: 0 yards
Net: -12.25 yards
Year to date: -21.625 yards

April Yarn
Used up: 423 yards
Brought in: 0 yards
Net: -423 yards
Year to date: -1823 yards

Feeling good about my totals for this month! Used up a good amount of fabric yardage, I have a few other projects I made this month that I still need to photograph. Keeping up with the weaving projects means my yarn yardage is looking good too. I love how much yardage it uses up!


Didn't try any new baking recipes this month, but did whip up a batch of marshmallows. The recipe I use is for mint chocolate chip marshmallows from the Joy the Baker Cookbook*. I just adjust the flavorings. This time I did simple vanilla, with vanilla bean paste. They turned out so fluffy and tasty.


Spring is really coming on now, my lily of the valley is starting to bloom. I am getting excited to start planting! After feeling super cooped up this winter, I am looking forward to being able to spend more time outside.

Have a Great Month!

*Note: Any links marked with an asterisk in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click through and buy something, I make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.

August Monthly Report

Happy September! It's time for August's monthly report. See past reports here.


The weather has finally started to break and it is making me feel more like sewing. It's been incredibly hot here the last two months which has made it tough to find the motivation to have the iron and sewing machine running! That being said, I actually sewed quite a bit this month. No big finishes to show for it (except one quilt that I'll share soon), but progress is being made so that's good.

These pretty Dreamin' Vintage* half-square triangle rows are now a finished quilt top, yay!


I made some more masks! I used this tutorial: Fabric Face Mask with Ties


I picked up some knitting this month too! I've been working on these color work mittens, just have the linings left. Need to get a move on these so that I can wear them this Fall. They're living in one of my favorite (project size) drawstring bags I've made.

Bag pattern: Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern
Mitten pattern: Sweet Nectar Mitts


With the heat and my arthritis flare-up this Summer, I've been sewing in the dining room the last few months. This meant my sewing room got neglected and was really turning into a mess. I spent some time this month cleaning it up and getting it organized again. Hoping I can move back upstairs sometime this month. At least now it's ready for me!


To keep myself accountable for my stash goals, I track my yardage for fabric and yarn each month. Read more about how I track here. Here is how I did in August:

August Fabric
Used up: 1.5 yards
Brought in: 0 yards
Net: -1.5 yards
Year to date: -10 yards

August Yarn
Used up: 0 yards
Brought in: 0 yards
Net: 0 yards
Year to date: 0 yards

Not much fabric came in or out last month!


Last year I posted this artwork in a rather large ornate frame (see it in this post: Recent Thrifting Finds) that I thrifted for a few bucks. Well I finally got around to re-framing it! I love how it turned out. It's an original painting on an art store canvas, which is pretty cool. Glad I was able to rescue it from the thrift store!


I baked a cake for Michael's half Birthday in early August. My Mom used to bake half a cake for us when we were kids so I decided to surprise him with his own half cake. It's just a single layer cut in half and stacked. I made the coconut cake + coconut frosting from Smitten Kitchen Every Day*. It was tasty!


George the bun, always so cute.

Have a great month!

*Note: Any links marked with an asterisk in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click through and buy something, I make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.

June Monthly Report

Happy July! It's time for June's monthly report. See past reports here.

How have you all been? We're still primarily staying home here and always wearing masks when we have to go out. Michael is back at the lab part time and I make a run to the grocery store every two weeks or so. Otherwise we've been spending a lot of time in our garden, which has kept us busy.

I used the Face Mask Tutorial by Craft Passion to make our masks.

I pulled out a really old work in progress this month! I cut out this big half-square triangle quilt back in 2014? Finished making, trimming and pressing the HSTs and I have it all stacked up in rows. Time to get this one finished! I have given away all my quilts made from Dreamin' Vintage, so this one will live with us.

I squeezed in a scrap project on the last day of June. I made a little pride flag to hang near the back door. It's my interpretation of the Progress Pride flag designed by Daniel Quasar. I thought it would be nice to display it by the door so that when people visit our home (some day), they'll know that all are welcome here. I used my DIY Enamel Pin Banner Tutorial as a base and added the paper pieced bottom. I made a little PDF with instructions and the block if you're interested in making one. Find it here.

Project update! We filled our grow bags with peppers and they're doing fantastic! We were both commenting a few days ago that we've never had pepper plants look this good, especially this early in the season. Hopefully they continue to do well in the bags! We'll definitely have some jalapenos to harvest soon.

Fabric Grow Bag Tutorial

I've just restocked my online shop with copies of my book! Grab a signed copy here: Patchwork Essentials: The Half-Square Triangle.

To keep myself accountable for my stash goals, I track my yardage for fabric and yarn each month. Read more about how I track here. Here is how I did in June:

June Fabric
Used up: 2.25 yards
Brought in: 7 yards
Net: +4.75 yards
Year to date: +5.75 yards

June Yarn
Used up: 0 yards
Brought in: 0 yards
Net: 0 yards
Year to date: 0 yards

Whoops, bought some fabric this month! Pink Castle Fabrics is closing and I wanted to support them in their closing sale. They still have some goodies left, if you're interested. I loved working with them on many projects throughout the years, they have always been so supportive of my work. I am sad to see them close, and I wish their staff only the best!

During this pandemic we've upped our amount of baking quite a bit, which has included adding some new recipes to our rotation. Our favorite addition has been these burger buns! They are super tasty, I can't imagine us buying buns anytime soon. They are the Beautiful Burger Buns by King Arthur Flour. They're so buttery and soft.

George doesn't stretch out when he sleeps much, so when he does we can hardly handle the cuteness. Caught him sleeping all curled up in his basket the other day!

Double George photo this month, because he is just too cute!

Have a great month!

Woodcut Mini Quilt

Happy Tuesday! Today I want to share the mini quilt that I made my Mom for Mother's Day!


My Mom has a wall in her sewing room that she is filling with mini quilts. I've made her a few, and I thought she could use another! She loves pink so I went all pink for this mini and dug into my scrap bin.


I decided to make a block from my friend Holly DeGroot's Woodcut Quilt Pattern. You can find it for sale in her online shop Bijou Lovely along with lots of beautiful fabrics and gifts!


I knew this block would be great for using scraps, plus it came together quickly! The center block is paper pieced, and I framed it with one of my Dreamin' Vintage florals.


Keeping with the pink theme I ended up using another Dreamin' Vintage print for the binding. It can be hard mixing pinks, there is such a huge range between warm and cool toned pinks.


I kept the quilting really simple (as always, pretty much!) and did some shadow quilting within the block. I added a few straight lines in the corners and it was done!

You can find the pattern here: Woodcut Quilt Pattern by Bijou Lovely

Happy Quilting!

March 2017 Report

Happy Spring! Time for March's monthly report. See past reports here.


I am happy to report that I finished three works in progress this month! I quilted and bound both of the baby quilts I started last month. They were both made using variation blocks from my book. I'll be sharing those later this month. I also cut out a tank a few months back that I stitched up the last day of the month. It took no time, I don't know why I was putting it off.


I made another lined drawstring bag to wrap a gift. What else is new?


I bought one skein of yarn this month, and managed to squeeze two hats out of it. One I knit as a gift and I knit a hat for myself with what was left. Used all but 15 yards of the skein! Felt good to use it up immediately. More on this hat on my Ravelry.


I finally finished Drachenfels this month, which I blogged about here. I've been wearing it lots before it gets too warm for shawls!


I had been waiting to start a new shawl until that one was finished. Happy to say I cast on for Briochealicious late in the month using the above yarns. Loving it so far.


To keep myself accountable for my stash goals, I'm tracking my yardage for fabric and yarn each month. Read more about how I track my here. Here is how I did in March:

March Fabric
Used up: 48.25 yards
Brought in: 41.25 yards
Net: -7 yards
Year to date: -23.5 yards

March Yarn
Used up: 1587 yards
Brought in: 245 yards
Net: -1342 yards
Year to date: -1389.5 yards

So, lots of activity this month! I totally binged on fabric early in the month. A group of us booked a weekend retreat at Stitch Supply Co the first weekend of the month. I hadn't bought much fabric this year, and once I started, I just kept going. I brought quite a bit of fabric to share too, which helps explain all the fabric that went out this month. Still managed to stay in the negative, but definitely hoping to bring in less this month and get back on track. I should say it was also my birthday month, so I'm using that as an excuse too. I finished three knitting projects this month including my shawl, so I am happily negative on yarn too!


I finally picked up my double wedding ring wedges again, for the first time in over six months. Yikes! I really fell off this goal last year, so it feels really good to work on it again. And now I only have FORTY WEDGES LEFT! I can't believe it. I'm hoping this pushes me to finish those up. The end is in sight! Looking at my other 2017 goals, I crossed three sewing projects off my WIP list this month and added one, bringing my total to 26. Worked towards my baby quilt goal. Prepped four Liberty Churn Dash blocks. On knitting, I finished Drachenfels, and worked towards my totals for sock/sport and DK/worsted. Feeling good!


Ready to start a few new projects this month after focusing more on WIPs last month. Picked out these fabrics for a project I hope to start soon. I love these colors together. Hoping to work on some garments this month too!


George the bun, in his hay. He likes to dig around in his new hay to find the "good hay". Such a silly bunny!

Have a great month!