like i said it is my way and i seen a video on you tube by a guy called heathworld.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx7QM...t4hzYm_SlnMBDQ He has 4 videos out and is how i kinda learned from him. He makes it easy. So all i do is i have my color choices ina basket next to me, then i start with 3-4 different kinds of pieces i like to use. I use a rotery cutter and cut what i want or just use a triangle piece or strip and lay it . I take 2nd piece of choice and turn over one edge-iron it and lay on a raw edge of number 1 piece, then set my machine to the fancy stitch of choice and stitch it in place. I usually do 3-4 pieces layout before i stitch so i have the layout. This is how i do it until it reaches a bit larger than my desired square which mine are 8 inch squares once squared off. This way is so simple for me and i can use lots of scrappys i have collected of all shapes n sizes. It works for me.