Rhonda

You can use scraps or a strip. The thing I like about using scraps or what I call swatches is that the size is small and you don't have to contend with the tail that gets in your way. when I cut strips I am constantly having to move the rest of the strips out of the way as I turn the mat and cut. But I showed the strip method so those who are concerned about waste would see a cleaner less waste way to do them with the cut down. I like the swatches or scraps myself. But then I have done most of my work in scrappy and the strips don't work for that. I try to not repeat a fabric.

actually I have a magic genie who's name is Dorothy and she makes most of my blocks for me. Then I get to sit down and play! She cuts strips and then cuts the strips into sections and piles up 30 sections of one fabric and then moves on to the next fabric and does the same. She then sets up stacks and sews two sections together usually a light and a dark and then she flag sews. She does hundreds of them at one time. She sews the twos together in long strings of flags and then sets them aside til she is all done and then goes back and cuts them all apart. If she is doing a Bosten then she goes on to add the third swatch. Then she irons all of it. Then she goes back and cuts out all of them. She is very assembly line oriented! LOL She uses the leftovers to pull apart and resew together and cuts out the next size smaller from it. We go down to a 1" size block so we don't waste anything.