Golden Afternoon Free Half-Square Triangle Quilt Pattern

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.

Last Minute Halloween Countdown Project

Happy Monday! I have one more Halloween project to share this season.


I whipped this up on Thursday and Friday last week, after I had a last minute idea. There are a bunch of little things I want to do to celebrate the season and we havne't gotten to most of them quite yet. So I decided to make a little Halloween countdown! This is really just a one week version of my Drawstring Bag Advent Calendar, but without numbered bags!


I already had a little treat bag (the orange one!) made from last year, so I needed to make six more. I used my Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern and used the tiny size. Perfect for a couple pieces of candy and an activity suggestion! I kept each activity pretty simple. I included a few different movies we want to watch, doing a Halloween puzzle, roasting pumpkin seeds, and making hot cocoa! Nothing too complicated.


Since the bags are so small I could use some extra previous fabrics. Including a spoonflower swatch I've had for who knows how long!! All of them have been in my stash for a while. luckily I still had enough of the accent fabric that I used on the bag I made last year, so they all have a matching element.


I cut all the bag pieces out on Thursday in about 45 minutes, including choosing the fabrics. On Friday it was just a couple hours of sewing and a shopping trip for some candy!


It was fun to sew just a few, and they turn out so cute. I used black nylon paracord for the ties to keep it quick and easy!


So starting today (Monday!), we get to open one bag a day through Halloween! It's a bit silly, but I don't care! We need to find little moments of joy anywhere we can. It's been a little weird leading up to Halloween this year. I'm usually busy making George bunny a Halloween costume and planning his yearly photo. Having a little countdown feels like it will be a nice distraction this week.


You can find the pattern for these bags in my shop here: Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern

Happy Sewing!

Halloween Treat Bag & My Spooky Village

I've been working on some Halloween related sewing and crafting this month, so I wanted to share two of those projects today. Plus some of my other spooky decor!


I seem to make a new Halloween lined drawstring bag every year, so of course I had to make one. Here is the one I made last year: Tiny Treat Lined Drawstring Bag + Other Halloween Projects


Ta-da! How cute is it? This is the everything size bag (tutorial size) from my lined drawstring bag pattern. I used the peek-a-boo lining variation from the expansion pattern, so we get just a little bit of the lining showing! The exterior fabrics are from Spooky 'n Sweeter by Art Gallery Fabrics*. Adorable fabric. The lining is an old print from my stash, not sure what it is. It's a great match though, lucky me! I finished up the bag with twill tape and wooden beads, both of which can be found in my shop.

Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern
Lined Drawstring Bag Expansion Pattern
Cotton Twill Tape
Round Wooden Beads


My other craft project this season is a spooky village!! I have been following the A Beautiful Mess blog for a long time and I was inspired to make my own village this year after hearing Elsie talk about hers on their podcast. They have a few blog posts about it, but this seems to be the most comprehensive: Our Spooky Village

I found all my birdhouses at JoAnn Fabrics and painted them with acrylic paints. I gave each house a shiny surface with clear sparkle paint at the end. I drew on the spiderweb (still need to find a small spider!), with a silver sharpie paint pen. The bats were cut out of cardstock with my Cricut Maker*, and attached with a little dot of hot glue. I absolutely love how they turned out! I want to embellish the purple house but just haven't decided how yet. This was a relaxing and fun project and I look forward to expanding it in the future!


Thrifted this little ghost for $1 this year. I love him.


Gotta have a giant spider in a plant!


A few Halloween softies. If you've been here for a while you know most of my holiday decor tends to be stuffed animals. :)


We thrifted this galvanized bucket this year for $2.50. I filled it with my two Halloween quilts! You can find them here:

Webbed Quilt (+ Pattern)
Halloween Nine Patch Quilt


I didn't get a good photo of it this year, but I always display my Coffin pillow! Make your own using my free tutorial: Paper Pieced Coffin Quilt Block Tutorial


And here is our fully decorated mantle! I made the Spooky Town Wall Hanging last year. I used Dana Bolyard's Ghost Town Quilt Pattern to make it.

Have a Spooky Sweet Day!

*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.

Kona Cottons Florette Quilt

Happy Wednesday! I meant to share this quilt with you in August, but time got away from me. Better late than never I suppose!

Disclosure: Robert Kaufman provided the fabrics for me to make this quilt.


Last year I was invited to make a quilt for Robert Kaufman's annual Kona Cotton calendar. I chose the month of August because the colors were purple/blue. My favorite colors! I decided to make a throw quilt using my Florette Quilt Pattern with these colors since I'd only ever made it in a wide range of colors. Using only solids is already out of my comfort zone, but solids in the same basic color? Woo! This was a challenge for me, but I was excited to try.

Find the pattern for this quilt here: Florette Quilt Pattern


I decided pretty early on to arrange the flower colors in a gradient. I tried a bunch of different layouts before landing here, but I really love how it turned out. Gives it a bit of extra movement. I also knew right away I didn't want to use a neutral for the background. A soft blue seemed like a good choice instead and I'm glad I chose it. It's a little hard to see in the photos, but in person it is much more obvious that it's blue!



For the quilting I sent it to Melissa Kelley of Sew Shabby Quilting. I went with one of my favorite quilting designs Malachite. It just looks good with everything, I swear!


You guessed it, it's bound up (and backed) in more purple! Here are all the fabrics I used to make this quilt:

As I mentioned, this entire quilt is made from Kona Cottons by Robert Kaufman. The background is actually Sky, the cornerstones are Hyacinth, backing is Grapemist and the binding is Noble Purple. The block fabrics are: Amethyst, Blue Bell, Bright Periwinkle, Hyacinth, Lavender, Lilac, Midnight, Purple, Nightfall, Denim, Cloud, Deep Blue, Evening, Cornflower, Grapemist, Tulip, Lapis, Regal, Princeess, and Noble Purple. You can see all the colors, and the quilt mock-up here: Kona Florette Quilt



And here it is in the Kona Calendar for 2021! :)


This was a fun project that stretched me outside of my comfort zone. It was also one of the only quilts I finished in 2020. I'm not sure I'll ever be super into making all solids quilts, but I definitely want to make more single colors quilts. I just love prints too much to give them up!

Find the pattern for this quilt here: Florette Quilt Pattern

Happy Quilting!

September Monthly Report

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


In September, most of my sewing efforts were put towards two projects. The first is a project for a magazine, which will be out in the Spring. The second is my green patchwork quilt.


Partway through the month I finished all the blocks for my green quilt and started laying them out. It was only then that I realized I sewed the green/white nine patch blocks with the colors in the wrong spots. The blocks were perfectly lovely as is, but they didn't reflect my vision for the quilt. I ended up deciding to fix them and also make the quilt a little larger.


Much better. I like the blocks before, but I was sad to lose the Irish Chain look. I am so glad I took the time to fix them and to make more blocks. Totally worth it.


My only finish this month was the wine bottle gift bag I shared in my previous blog post (read more about it here). Here is the quick info on it though: I used my Wine Bottle Drawstring Gift Bag Tutorial. For fabrics, I used Strawberry Fields by Rifle Paper Co* for the exterior main, Sprinkle by Cotton and Steel* for the accent and Widescreen by Carolyn Friedlander* for the lining.
It's finished with black nylon paracord from Bored Paracord and Round Wooden Beads from my online shop.

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 September:

September Fabric
Used up: .5 yard
Brought in: 0 yards
Net: -.5 yards
Year to date: -37.25 yards

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

Not a lot of activity on the yardage this month. Didn't bring anything in, and only finished one drawstring bag. No movement on yarn related projects.



I had some great luck thrifting this month. Found these two vintage christmas pyramids to add to my collection. I found them at the same time, for only $6 each! They need a little TLC, but I couldn't leave them behind.


Made a batch of bretzel last month, it really hit the spot. I hadn't made it since last Spring/Winter. Such a great recipe. Find the recipe I use and a video of the boiling process here: Bretzel Bread Tips & Tricks


The dahlias are looking so good right now! :)

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.