I too had that problem at first, here are the major changes I made to correct the not lining up. 1) acurate cutting - I found I tended to swerve a tiny bit at the end of my rotary cuts, so i double check and re trim if necessary 2) acurate 1/4 seam - try running a piece of colored tape on your machine bed to keep you seam at 1/4", or try a 1/4 foot. 3) pressing seams opposite directions. I never understood this as a garment sewer, but on my 9 patch it makes lining up the seams very accurate and pin at each intersection, stretching slightly to be sure that the seams meet. And the best advise is to keep trying, quilting wouldn't be such a great artform if it was easy the first time!