I do not care for seams pressed open--but that is just me and there is nothing wrong with doing things that way. I also do not follow the 'press to the dark' when making a block with lots of HST's. I have been known to lightly finger press the HST seams and lay out a block with the wrong side up. That way, I can figure out which way to press each seam so that they nest properly. Yes, it sounds like a lot of work, but if you need 20 of those blocks, it is a terrific time saver. If the pattern has two alternating blocks, I will do the same for the alternating block so that the two fit together better.