This is the type of posting I enjoy early in the morning while sipping my first cup of coffee. Sometimes I forget how many tricks I have learned and the help I've received from others. It's fine to establish your own preferences and style!
Bonnie Hunter from
www.quiltville.com is famous for the trick of sewing two pieces of fabric together for a block instead of using a spider (which I had done for years).
Once I get a rhythm going on a block which I will duplicate several times, I use the trick of sewing two at a time. You're repeating a row of stitching twice and end up with two (drumroll, please) finished blocks. :-)