I just finished my first quilt block, and instead of 12.5 inches square, it is approx a bit over 12 by a bit under 12.

Looking over it I noticed that it is a mixture of slightly miscut strips (That I didn't notice when cutting) by some slightly uneven, not exact seams.

When I started the block I was not sure what I was going to do with it, and now I'm debating on doing a bunch of random blocks and putting them together in a lap quilt, or make a pillow out of the one block.

Is there a way of getting the blocks more even. On the sewing machine I have a stack of masking tape at the 1.4 inch mark, but still tend to go bigger and smaller then that.

With cutting, even if I move the hand up the ruler while cutting, I still get either the ruler or the fabric shifting.

With the stitch it just takes practice.

Hey, it was your first block! At least you got close to the right size. Just keep practicing. Move your stack of tape a teeny bit closer to the needle so your seams will be a little bit smaller and your block will be bigger.

You can add a 2" sashing around all of your blocks (cut it 2 1/2") then trim them all to the same size :wink:
When you sew all of these together, trim the sides all up to match too :D:D:D

PPP Practice, practice, practice! and have fun!

if they are a smuge small use your iron an stretch slighy if a muge to bin trim to size have fun

There are a lot of ways to help with a ruler slipping. I would encourage you NOT to use one that raises the ruler off the fabric in little spots (can you tell I tried this?).

You should also check to make sure you have an accurate 1/4 inch. If there was one thing that I had the most problem with at the beginning this is it. You should cut two 2 1/4 x 3 inch pieces and sew down the 2 1/4 side. Press seam first to set stitches and then to one side. Measure block. You should have a 4 x 3 inch block. If not, start adjusting you needle position or mark it on your machine. There are a lot of Topics on how to do this better than I explained it.

If you are having trouble with wobbling seams (mine are especially prone to have trouble at the beginning and end) try a stilleto (bamboo skewer will work) and something some people call a spider (leader and enders?). They help keep the fabric feeding evenly at the beginning and ending of a seam.