I don't know how I missed this thread -- it is great.
I start out obsessing about the fabrics -- for some reason I am very picky about the color, value and hue. My sewing room is a disaster -- even if all I am doing is trying to find fabric to make a practice sampler. For a quilt, I could spend a week or more choosing fabric (or trying to find where I put a piece of fabric).
After that, all bets are off. I try to cut pieces the right size, but if the ruler slips I make it work. I try to sew straight seams, but hey I'm human and not perfect. I give my points one chance to match (and I do glue them), but if something happens then that's the way it is. My mitered corners are a bit rounded sometimes -- oh well.
I tear my borders and long sashing on the lenghtwise grain. I rarely will use either the fabric or color used in a pattern -- I want to make my quilt not someone elses. I have made an all blue quilt and an all purple table runner -- the differences are subtle with the purple, but I love them. My quilts talk to me and tell me how big they want to be (I have been arguing with a Halloween quilt for a couple of years now so it is sleeping).
I change my machine needle when it makes noise, I use my rotary blades until I can barely cut and I machine sew my binding. I prefer poly thread for quilting, but I like cotton for piecing. My TV set is on when I am quilting or piecing, though I normally only use it as a radio.
I have only entered one quilt in a show -- DH loved it, used a lot of metalic thread and the judges really reamed me (If they sell metalic thread -- shouldn't we use it? I sure wouldn't piece with it.)
I like simple piecing -- my attention span is short since if it takes more than a couple of weeks to finish a top it won't get done. My fabric has to do the work (hence my obsession with getting the fabric choice right).