Improv etc.

I am frugal (i.e. cheap).  I don't need to run out to buy the latest quilting tool or even older ones.

Do I need a spinning cutting mat?  No.  Do I want one? Yes.

I have a lazy susan from my kitchen, languishing unused.  I attached strips of cardboard on top of the lazy susan so my small cutting mat would like flat.

Et voila.  Sufficient for trimming small blocks.

 

 Now I just have to check that it works.  And start making small blocks...

For my next order of business, I a going to sew together strips of batting to make 14" ish squares for wall hangings.  Since I do not plan to use the blocks for anything other than wall hangings, as long as the strips are more or less the same thickness, it doesn't matter whether they are 100% cotton or a blend. 

If strips are being joined together for bed quilts, they definitely should be of the same composition, because they shrink differently.