I didn't use y seams on mine, but I'm not following the directions. I'm drawing up the block in EQ8 and deciding from that how to sew. So while I'm drawing it up, I'll put in a seam here and there if it eliminates Y and won't mess up the pattern. Usually if they are in the background fabric, it does not matter. I don't have trouble with Y seams, but they can be a pain when it's very small. At least with a sampler, it's not like we are doing it over and over and over again!
Reminds me of the thread about technique, sometimes we get so focused on following the directions that we don't consider a different method that might be more to our liking.