Hi Bruce, congratulations. I usually rip/shape long strips outside. I guess it partly depends on the weather but it's a ton easier dealing with long lengths that way. If that's not an option then go ahead and keep them as long as you can - 8 ft. You can butt/scarf them together and then the extra material from previous strips can be used for your shorter lengths. You'll end up with lots of different lengths as you start staggering the location of the butt/scarf and trimming off the extra.

I try to rip the boards so the finished strips are mostly edge grain (straight, parallel lines) but you can really cut them any way you want and get good results. Flat grain strips can be harder to tool later down the road and they may have the characteristic striped/cathedral-shaped grain pattern which may not look as good as edge grain. Some cedar has a swirling grain pattern which can look good too. I hope this helps.

- Chip
http://www.ChipSandresky.com