Any time I get in a hurry to do anything things happen to thwart my plans. When I did a jelly roll race I was letting the seamed strips slide over the back of the sewing table and found that it is quite possible when they fall quite straight and neat like that to not notice that the bobbin ran out until you have "sewn" a good six feet of nothing. And/or the needle breaks or the machine goes haywire in some way, usually more than once. At some point I tell myself that this is a hobby I do for pleasure, and pressure to get anything done in a big hurry is not part of the fun for me. It's probably safe to say that when a teacher like Eleanor Burns touts a method as fast, she's being quite honest, but quilting is her career. She has the best equipment and supplies all the time and constant practice. It seems to me distinctly likely that the average hobby quilter is not going to have quite the same conditions and experience and will take more time. The short cuts EB uses will definitely save time over traditional methods.