it depends on what it is. sometimes i'll find a fabric i really love but it's expensive so i'll buy a meter of it(i'm in canada, they use meters instead of yards) then i'll go around looking for cheaper fabrics to go with it and buy a bunch of them. or i'll see a 'set' that i like and buy 3/4 of a meter of each of them so it comes out to several meters. then there's some i just must have and have no plans for them but i get lots of it just to have. i know what whoever said some are just too pretty to cut up is talking about. i have a few like that. i've taken them out a few times to use and then ended putting them back. it's just not their time yet. i like to put a lot of assorted fabrics into my quilts though, so i don't usually go over 3 meters.