I think I have figured out why Knitette had trouble with the math in those blocks. It was the "x". 8x2 1/2 squares means cut 8 of the 3 1/2 squares. The word SQUARE is the key. This was no place for an "x". That usually means "by", as in 8x2 1/2 means a piece 8 inches by 2 1/2 inches.
I am also confused by the terminology on this site. I have figured out a lot of it, and a lot of it doesn't matter. LOL
I took a class last year with a pattern that asked to "furl" the seams on a 4 patch. I couldn't figure out why, so I asked the instructor. She really didn't know, so I just nested the seams normally. When I got to sewing the rows together, I found that the seams underneath were facing toward the needle, and needed to be coaxed into going under the needle without flipping back. When I added to the quilt later, I furled all those seams so that all seams went the same way as you went around the square. That one seam just pops open as you coax it with the iron. Then you end up with a teeny four patch in the middle of the wrong side of the 4-patch. Too bad I can't give you a picture of this. When I sewed the new rows together, all the seams were facing the correct way.