Barb in Louisiana

My first method is to square up as I go. That keeps the block sizes "honest". Any ripping and/or re-sewing can be done before I go to the next block. If I wait until I get all the blocks sewn and then try to square up, it's a lot more time consuming and difficult. I lose points and patience. That's when I move onto the "fudging" method.

For some reason I cannot keep items that have a lot of bias square. I am going to try the starch method. If my HST's are precut triangles, then every single one of them has to be squared up carefully, or I have a mess!

When I have blocks that are reasonably square, then I just start fudging....working in the excess on each block by putting the larger block on the bottom and pulling the top to help make it fit. Pins help because you can stagger the excess fabric. I only get "puckers" if I try to work the excess out without pinning. Note: On a 12 inch block, I can't comfortably work in more than 1/4 to 3/8 inch extra. It will bell out and look like a pregnant block if I am not careful. Does this make for a wonky quilt? Sometimes, but I just don't sweat the "small stuff" and add a border(s). Sometimes more than one.

I am my own quilter, so I can work in a little extra on a top if I am careful, but you just can not quilt out all the piecing mistakes, but who cares? After it's washed, it's all krinkly anyway. The idea is to enjoy our craft, not agonize over it.

My quilts are fun, utility, quilts that are meant to be used. If you are going to enter in a show, then a lot more precision is required and I'm not willing to put myself into that much of a pressure category.

Edited to add: I find that if I add the larger blocks randomly all over the top before I start the easing (fudging) in sewing, they don't show up as much as if I try to put them all in a row or column. Also, remember, not everyone is going to be there with a tape measure to make sure you aren't 1/2 inch difference from one side to the other. It's just us wanting our work to be "Perfect."