If there are hard and fast rules I probably break them all. I do my binding by pressing in half then pressing half again on one side so I can turn it over to stitch it down by hand on the back of the quilt (did that make any sense?). I don't prewash no matter what the colors are (no problems so far), I cheat with borders or blocks "made easy" for my quilting. All in all I just enjoy myself, if there are rules I really don't pay much attention. Oh and I don't set my seams first while ironing, nor do I always press them the right direction. The more I think about it the more stuff I come up with-oh well!!!!!!!