I should have said that I cut them big as well. I am sorry that it didn't work for you, Jeanne. I would have felt the same way had I not made the blocks bigger so that I could trim them down. I just don't sew precise enough, but it sounds like you are an accurate sewer by nature. I think you will be happier if you trim all of your blocks down before sewing each month.
I do like that Cheryl gave us options this year. However, I do think her directions this month were too simplistic. Especially, with the lack of instructions on how to square them up. Plus, I think her measurement were off on the second fabric attached to the HST to form the half hour glass blocks. It should have been 5.5" and not 5.25" (for those of us that cut larger).