I get so disgusted...ready to give up

[rebeccas-sewing]

My dear, you are having way too much stress over this. This is supposed to be fun. Do you have a "Shape Cut Ruler?" It makes cutting strips and squares very accurate. Have you tried sewing your squares together with the grain going in the same direction on each piece? For the most part I don't pin. I find it better to have the fabric free of pins so I can manipulate the pieces as I'm sewing to make them fit together properly. The only time I pin is if I'm sewing pieces together where the seams aren't able to nest. Sometimes I'll pin the seams together when I'm sewing rows.

If you have one piece that is slightly larger than the other sew with the larger piece on the bottom. The feed dogs will usually make the adjustment so the two pieces fit by the time you've reached the end of the seam. There's also nothing wrong with using your hands to manipulate the fabric as you're sewing. Make sure you're sewing against that 1/4" guide all the way to the very end of the seam. I've discovered that sometimes I'm not careful to sew a full 1/4" at the end. It sometimes drifts away from the 1/4" as I'm about to finish the seam. Open up the seam and check to make sure you've got a 1/4" seam past the point. If not, put it under the needle and sew a bit deeper. Make sure you're sewing on the side of the block where you can see the intersection of each point. Sew just to the right of the point.

It's fabric. It's not paper. It has stretch and movement. You have to work with that. You've got to go slow and use your eyes to make allowances. If you have to fudge a bit into the seam to make sure your point is exposed do so. Don't do it abruptly. Look ahead and see if you're most likely going to cut off the point. If so, begin a gradual adjustment into the seam so you don't cut off the point. If you're whizzing along making sure you've always got 1/4" seams you are going to be frustrated when you turn it to the right side and see your point is cut off. Yes, you need to aim for that 1/4" seam but it's not cut in stone. I sure wish I could watch what you're doing to see what's causing you so much grief. Can you take a beginner class somewhere so an instructor can give you some guidance?