A "Scant 1/4-inch"

HOW do I not know these things? I'm about to share with you my most recent discovery. It's called a "scant 1/4-inch". Of course, I had HEARD of a "scant 1/4-inch". It wasn't until recently that I truly understood it though!

I've been working on my Maple Leaf Quilt blocks. See the posts here and here. It's been going very well until......

I noticed this.

Please ignore the bad photography. The lighting is very dark this morning.
The blocks sewn with my old machine are 9".

And, the blocks sewn with New & Shiny and it's fancy "scant 1/4-inch" foot are 9 -1/2"!

How could I not notice this before? It's one of the mysteries of the world. I just seem to learn things the hard way. Even if someone had told me that by using a full 1/4" seam vs. a scant 1/4" seam would result in a 1/2" difference in finished block size. Would I have got it? Probably not. It's just the way I am!

Now, I have less blocks than I thought. I'll also have to figure out a project to use the  9" blocks. Well, I guess I'll go sew a few more blocks!

Happy Stitching!