[QUOTE=yweinst;5992098]So I went to my LQS and they helped me out with what some of the issues. I am also going to take a private class on Sunday with an expert at the store and she is going to help me precision piece better and fix my mistakes. Thanks for the suggestion to find a quilting penpal...it's what gave me the idea to go to the LQS and ask for help.]
I am so glad you were able to get help. Let me just say that I have been quilting 9 or 10 years and don't think I will ever attempt a Mariner's Star. They are certainly beautiful, but too hard for me! I like easy and am not looking for a challenge. I do something I regret in every single quilt I make. My latest was pressing. I was taught you press to the dark whenever possible. I've got nine patch squares sewn to white squares and pressed each one back to the nine patch, because I thought you would really be able to see the dark seam allowance under the white block. This was very hard because of the bulk, but I kept going. After finishing piecing the top I looked over the instructions to see if there were quilting suggestions when I noticed the instruction to press toward the light. Geez! It sure would have been easier! I have since read that with today's fabrics the idea of pressing toward the dark in no longer so important. Anyway, my point is that even after all these years I don't think I've ever made a quilt that I didn't wish I had done something differently.