Ruth, I LOVED the Irish Chain quilt that had 1 inch squares and VOWED that I would not do 1 inches - so I did 2 1/2 inch squares (2 inches). You MAY want to consider THAT - then you could strip 6-8 L-O-N-G sections and reuse that particular sequence over and over....just a thoughts.
I found that the 1 1/2 inch squares were just as lovely, just not as many repeats in the quilt....did not miss the extra patterns when all was completed.