There is no perfect quilt! Quilts aren't made by God and I'm sure he's quite proud of your block! just keep going. A good sharp rotary cutter helps and I'm still working on my 1/4 inch seam.

I look at it this way :) It was an "Artistic Design Choice" and just let it go, practice makes perfect, but even then perfection is rather overrated :p Hugs, you are doing fantastic.

I often cut down my blocks by 1/4-1/2 in to make sure it is square. Ensure you use good steam when pressing, it does keep down the "waviness" of the blocks (assuming it is a pressing issue and not a stretching issue).

The errors you are showing are so minor, I doubt very highly in a large quilt you will notice, heck even in a small one you wont notice. And if anyone does you just say "It was an Artistic Design Choice, I was going for that look" ;)

You've gotten lots of good advice above. "nesting" seams means put the blocks together so that the seam allowance of one block go in the opposite direction from the other block. Pinning does help. A lot of us "square up" our blocks each time. Press the block really well. I suggest you use a dry iron as a steam iron will possibly stretch your fabric. Remember to press not iron. then, once the block is well pressed, measure it to see if it's the right size. If it's overly big you can cut it back to the correct size. If it's too small, you need to check your seam allowance measurement. I think you are doing really well. One way to immediately see a problem is if the "dog ears" that show up in your first picture are evenly sized. Yours are - a good sign. Keep going!

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I didn't try starch when I cut the fabric but I will next time. As for squaring things up after sewing a block, good idea. I also like the Post-It suggestion.

I decided to do a test patch today with some leftover material before I start the bigger piece:

http://i.imgur.com/sY7Qp8f.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/CBhHrGt.jpg?1

Sweetie there is an old saying, You can't see spots on a galloping horse. Your blocks are just great. My Advice is don't be so hard on yourself. Set back sew and ENJOY. No quilt is perfect.

Your blocks look much better than my first blocks. But you asked if the problems you're seeing can give you trouble down the line, and the answer is yes and no. If your points don't match in the center of the block, that is a cosmetic thing and will not cause any further problems. However, if your blocks aren't the correct size, or if they won't lay flat, then that can cause problems that will be much more difficult to fix at a later stage in the quilt-making. One of the most important lessons to learn in quilting, and one that we all have trouble with, is that it's best to find and fix any problem as early as possible. So keep on questioning whether you can do better, and try to get your blocks to be completely flat and the right size. Just be sure you have fun doing it, and don't get obsessed over perfection.

it helps me to iron each block as I go. also if you alternate directions on which way you press the seams. doing great though, mine don't always line up perfect everytime. Noone has ever disliked their quilt

I'm definitely not a pro but great job so far and the ripples seem to quilt "out" from my experience!

Butt your seams together and put a pin on either side that will keep them together!

For me, I find that when trying to match points - either intersecting blocks or seams within a block - pressing seams open helps tremendously. And when pinning, I place a pin straight up/down through the seam on the top, then put that pin through the matching seam on the bottom block. Keep that pin straight and then put pins through both pieces as close to both sides of the up/down pin then remove the center (up/down) pin and sew. But your blocks look great. Practice and enjoy the process. As someone else mentioned, if it's going to make you crazy then rip 'n fix. If not, no one else is going to notice or care.