Originally Posted by hatchet
Honestly, I'm self taught and I find it very hard and irritating to follow a pattern. Seems like every time I try I end up with my 12" block measuring up at 8"s. I just got done with one that was a pattern and I had to remake my sample block 3 times and change all the sizes of the pieces to get it to a 12" block! Don't they add the 1/4 inch seam allowance to the piece measurements? It's frustrating.
I've been doing a BOM with a friend. She had very similar problems to yours. She didn't pay close attention to the cutting of the fabric, or the seams. My first quilt, I thought the first line on my sewing machine was close enough to 1/4". My blocks were smaller than the pattern. I've learned by trial and error, how much 1/16" can make a difference in the size of my block. I had a teacher say that is what sashings are for, to compensate for a mis-sized block. I have done at least 30 BOMs and finished two quilts because it is so scary to pick out my own fabric. I would say get into a BOM, I learned more there and at my own speed. My friend is learning more everytime also about accurate quilting. Erased some of your words to finish mine. Good luck. I love to watch friends learn to quilt.