pin, pin, pin, pin....I also always will pin at intersections making sure things don't move.

Those who don't pin and still get matching seams have discovered a magic technique. The rest of us have to pin, pin, pin,pin to get the seam to match. It is all part of the technique of the craft. And don't be mislead by those experts on YouTube.......They have done it a long time. They know their equipment and they probably use little tricks we don't see on the tube. And afterall it might be easy to get one block right.....but what about the rest of the quilt. It is just like the demos at quilt conventions showing freemotion and machine quilting. Always on a 12" square. Never on a full size quilt.

I quilt for fun. I rarely pin. I iron seams in opposite directions and then just lock the seams together. A little tug and pull while holding onto the locked seam... And it works for me.

I use a wooden iron or bone folder and do not use an iron til the block is finish.

Excellent advice!

And like JustABitCrazy wrote, you don't have adopt all of Sally's methods (I didn't), but just knowing where and why things can go wrong will be a huge help.

It always boils down to the cutting, sewing and pressing - individually or any combination or all three.

The Art of Machine Piecing - I bought it when it first came out - best money I ever spent on any quilting book.

What is the name of the book? I would like to request that my local library purchase it! Thanks!

I feel your pain! I am working on a half triangle piece to show off some hourglasses and although each square individually was almost perfect (see, almost) once I began sewing my rows together it began to look like a hot mess. Of course, any person not familiar with quilting has looked at it and ooohed and awwwed over it but when I look at it the seams just taunt me!! I have found the best method for this particular project of mine is to pin where the seams nest and to hold the fabric together firmly while I'm sewing, not so firmly that it warps but just that it behaves and then right when I get to that nesting point I take the pins out and sew right over and it does the trick. That has worked so far and then when I press it it all looks much better. Good luck, I am a beginner like you and I think we just need to keep practicing and quilting and quilting and quilting.

When you pin the fabric together, make sure that the seams are ironed opposite each other vs going the same way. The seams should be snug up against the other. Then pin. Try that to see if your results are improved.
Sandy

Pin, pin pin! Sometimes your seams will go together without pinning, but most times, you'll have to pin. But I find that not actually pinning the seams, but pinning OVER the seams, helps keep it straight . When you put a pin in the sem allowance and then do that little motion to make the point come back out again, it WILL throw the seam out of alignment. I pin about 1/4" before the seam and 1/4" after the seam. Also those 2 pronged pins work very well for pinning on each side of the seam.

Notice the opposite side of the pieces you are sewing. If they don't match evenly together then no matter if you match at the seams the row will be crooked. I always match the opposite sides of the seams and that may mean I have less seam allowance for one fabric piece for the seam. If it is more then 1/16 less then I know I messed up somewhere. I stop and find out why before sewing more. I took Sally Collins class and it isn't for the hurry up and sew type people. Each step is very precise. She had a video class on The Quilt Show last year which was excellent.