Okay first of all, a true quilting friend will NOT point out the errors. If she does, she's not really a friend.
A good friend might offer assistance to show you how to improve, though.
A couple of thoughts. First of all, when you press your pieces, are you using and up-and-down motion with the iron, or are you wiping the iron across the fabric? Wiping will cause your blocks to stretch. If you're not a pre-washer, you might consider washing the fabrics, or not using any water in your iron. I've had pieces of fabrics shrink after I've cut and sewn them, because I used starch or steam as I pressed.
Second, your pins in the first picture are in an odd spot. I don't pin much, but when I do, I pin over the seam that I'm going to sew. As I'm sewing, when I reach the pin, I stop and pull it out, then continue to sew.
You might consider doing some paper piecing. I actually got my start in quilting by taking a paper-piecing class, I was at a sewing show and the class I originally wanted to take was full. The benefit of paper-piecing is you get very accurate blocks. There are wonderful tutorials and videos out there to learn from. Make sure you start with a simple block, the Ohio star would work wonderfully.
I understand how you feel, I'm frustrated because I don't think my quilting skills are where they should be, especially in relation to my piecing skills. It sounds like you're the same with your applique skills. Just keep plugging away at it. You will be surprised at how quickly you improve. There were times when I'd get frustrated, wad my project up into a ball and throw it in a bin. Pull it out 6 months later and amazingly, I'd improved and now had the skills to work out that particular problem.
Your blocks are beautiful. As Paper Princess said, quilting will improve it.