I routinely cut 1.5" strips from scraps. I love to make small 4-patch and 9-patch blocks to incorporate into larger blocks. Bonnie Hunter influences again. :-) Check out her Crabapples quilt in Adventures with Leaders and Enders. I pieced one of these last year. It actually went faster than what I expected and was lots of fun.
http://quiltville.com/adventureswithleadersenders/crabapples1.jpg