I would say that the ripper is my best friend, but how could I hate my best friend?! :) A while back I started a quilt where I sewed each block and then trimmed the edges to the proper dimension. STUPID ME, the blocks could not be sewn together properly because I cut off my 1/4" on some and had more like a 1/3" on others! I couldn't even use a ripper to help me out on that one! I was so discouraged that it is still sitting in the box waiting to be finished.

First, congrats on making so many quilts. That's impressive! After all these years of quilting, I still have trouble with HST. They never seem to be straight on grain, are wonky and I ALWAYS have to ease in something when putting them together. Then my blocks usually measure smaller on one or two sides making the rows "funny."

One of the stupidest things I've done: My daughter got married in 1997. I made signature blocks and there were many wonderful, meaningful things written on the blocks. So I couldn't figure out how to trim them down properly, but I started cutting them down anyway. Many of them barely have seam allowances. Needless to say the blocks are now part of a UFO. Luckily my daughter has never asked about them. Perhaps I can finish by their 20th!

Machine binding. I can't seem to keep things straight...

I am afraid to even TRY that block, even though I've bought the Tri-Recs tool for it. I haven't ever tried flying geese, either. Triangles look so easy in tutorials, but they don't cooperate with me very well.

Binding is my nemesis. I have RA and can't handsew. I machine sew the binding on one side and when it comes to turning the binding over, my hands balk. I recently made a deal with my quilting DD. I pay her to sew the binding on for me. She also hand sews the label on. Thank you Tammy.

Needle turn applique is my biggest challenge. It's mostly a time issue . I have the utmost respect for those who create some of the most awesome quilts with this technique.

All of it keeps me very humble. When someone praises a quilt, I'm thinking "you don't know how many mistakes are in it". I'm doing one now with all bias edges. Yikes! Sure am using a lot of spray starch. Everytime I start something that I think I have a handle on, the handle slips. But I have found that sometimes you can teach an old dog new tricks.

I think this is very true for most of us. I know it certainly is for me. I've only been at it for about 15 years now and not nearly as prolific. I usually make bed quilts for family/friends and I hand quilt so they usually take a while.

For the really intricate/fiddly stuff I think paper piecing is the way to go. My geese rarely fly straight and the only way I can accurate do a HST is to go big and trim. But then again, I certainly try to do my absolute best and be as accurate as possible, but I'm not adverse to the adage 'only God is perfect' and can usually be satisfied with 'close enough' unless it's really horrible.

LOL, and then they want it to "disappear"!

Have you seen the faux piping binding technique? It's all machine sewn. There is at least one YouTube, but here's a link to a .pdf -- http://lvqg.org/media/2a7a5a699c092a...02ffffe415.pdf