I always square up as I go along also. It makes each addition fit better.

It is not 'square' to square your blocks. It helps to preserve your sanity.

wSo now my lack of squaring is on the same level as professional quilters! Who Knew? :D

I square up as I go - gives me peace of mind.

I square every time I finish a block, large or small. It does take extra time, but well worth when they all match up in a big quilt!

Since I have "good" days and "bad" days when cutting and sewing, I will square up as I go along. Right now I'm working on a BOM sampler, and I check the HST's and cut to the right size, then at each portion of the block as I go along. But I would definitely square the 4-patch first, then square up each addition after that, it's so much easier to do it as you go, then the final block only requires minimal cutting to square it up. I am much happier with the results when I do it that way.

Thanks for asking this question Annie Pearl. This has been on my list of things to ask but I keep forgetting.

I square up my block as I go also and it really puts all the seams together and works real good for me.

I used to always square mine up as I go, or at least when they get to the sashing stage. Last week I put together a wall hanging, rather quickly as I was auditioning a pattern for a king size quilt. I did not square anything up, and when I got to the borders, I saw how out of proportion it had become. It has a narrow contrasting border that really shows up my laziness. Lesson learned.

Froggy, you square up a block by using a square ruler with a diagonal line. Place the diagonal so it goes through the middle of the block (or along the seam of a HST), putting the halfway point in the middle. So, four inch block, put the two inch mark in the dead center. Cut off the excess on two sides. Turn it around and line up the cut edges with your finished size, be sure your diagonal is across the center, then cut off the excess of the remaining two sides. This is a common question, I'll do a tutorial on my blog on it in a few days so you can have pictures.