Batting and 9 patch block

[Joannequilts]

Jan, I have alot of the yellow headed pins..I think they were the first pins I ever bought. Probably, whoever told you they weren't any good had a problem with them that I have had. Mine tend to "snag" the fabric...like some of them, not all, have tiny "burrs" on the shaft.
Pins are expensive when they are very fine. So I use them for flannel or places where the snagging doesnt' matter.

Joanne:0)

[khowardquilts]

I have trouble getting my blocks to come out the same size, also. I check each part I sew as I go a long with a ruler to make sure it is right and resew if I need to.

If it is off just a little you can fudge it by putting the larger piece on the bottom with the seams pinned so they match. It isn't hard to take a seam in a little; most of the time it only needs a thread width or two to make a difference. if the seam is too deep resew outside the seam and pick the original out with a seam ripper.

If you are making a quilt that is for a baby or is going to get a lot of use, don't worry about it too much. If you tie the quilt at the intersections, the corners won't show much. (I did a good job matching corners on a baby quilt then made the mistake of covering them with ties).

Kathy

[jameswife2003]

Joanne, my grandma taught me a neat trick to help keep snagging down with pins. Whenever they start to get burs or won't go through the fabric well, she sticks them in a bar of soap! I think she uses Dove, but I'm not sure. I'll try to remember to check next time I talk to her. My mom used Dial. This trick helped me out alot with DS1's diaper pins(he was in cloth diapers for a year due to undiagnosed food allergies) and I still use it every now and then on my quilting pins, but I don't tend to pin very much. Probably need to start, my corners might match up better if I did:) HTH.