Keep up the good work! It is not bad for your first!!!! Work on the things mentioned above!!! Get yourself some new rotary blades, cutting matt, be careful on 1/4 seams and you will only get better and better.

Darlin', I can see a big difference in your seams..If you don't have a 1/4" foot, can you move your needle? Draw a quarter inch seam line on a white block, line the edge of the block with the edge of your reg. foot, and move the needle until it is just a skosh over the line. Stitch and measure . Some folks line up the edge of their block with masking tape on the machine bed. It just takes a little while to train your eye on the edge of the foot & you'll soon be finding it easy to do.

None of us were any good starting out. Practice makes perfect.

I don't think you should be expecting perfection after 4 blocks.

I bet your appliqué is beautiful. Would you show us a photo of that?

Dull rotary cutters are no good, that's for sure. I'd suggest you change the blade.

It looks like you didn't square up some of your HSTs and as a result some of them are oversized. In that case, nothing will line up and it is no wonder that you are frustrated. I always sew my HSTs and QSTs oversided and square them up. It may be more prep work but MUCH LESS headache in the long run.

The book "Mastering Precision Piecing" 2006 by Sally Collins was the single best book that helped me the most. I checked it out at the library.
Cut fabric accurately - square up the fabric first (use rotary cutter)
Get that scant 1/4" seam allowance
square up each section that you piece together
press gently without distorting the section. gently means with as little iron gliding as possible.
before you sew, put the needle down and butt the edge of the fabric up to the needle.
Slow is key. I pin a lot. Going slowly enables you to sew over the pins and not break your needle.
Hope this helps.

Love 2 Sew, here is the post link to some of my applique: http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...s-t208187.html

MadQuilter, what is HST and QST?

Thank you all for the advice! I'll get more blades for my cutter and probably a new mat. I think I'm going to make a single 2 color irish chain quilt and see how I do with that. That should be easy I would think.

Get a Go Baby, it's not expensive, and a few basic shape dies. Your cuts will be accurate and each one the same. You will have much better results when sewing. It looks like your seam wobbled some on the border. That is easy to fix. Go back and sew a straight over the wobble and then pick out the crooked part.

I agree with the other ladies. This isn't bad for a first. I too prefer applique because my piecing skills are lacking. However, after getting Harriet Hargrave's "Quilting Academy" books and following her techniques, I have improved considerably. I believe it's either her Junior or Senior book that deals with triangles. The Sally Collins book is also great for learning accurate piecing, but I find Harriet's book easier. Harriet gives you projects to practice on. I now measure each piece that I sew to make sure it's accurate. It takes more time, but a lot less frustrating than to have a finished block you are unhappy with. Keep at it. The more you do, the better you will become.

Having said all that, I still prefer applique.