the block borders you see are made from 1" strips. they are not continuous strips. i cut my fabric into fat quarters first, then cut my strips. i find it easier to control the ruler and blade over the shorter distances. since the blocks are approximately 15" finished, i cut from the 18" side of the FQs and trim off the excess AFTER i've sewn the strips to the blocks.
when it comes time to make the borders to go around the whole top, i'll probably cheat. that is, i'll cut strips across the whole width of the border fabric, but cut them a half-inch wider than the intended size. once they're sewn and pressed, i'll carefully square them back to the proper width. (unless by some miracle it's actually straight all the way around, in which case I'll "change my mind" about the width of that particular border. why look a gift horse in the mouth? :lol: )