Hi Cher! I haven't seen you smiling face for a while! I do pin. I was pinning like crazy but I think it adds to the bulk going through the machine/needle. Now I'm only pinning critical points. As you've seen in some of my other quilt pics, I've done some intense paper piecing projects. I've been trimming to 1/8 instead of 1/4, so pressing seams open isn't an option for me. Plus I did try that and it seems to make the seams wanna loosen up.