I know it isn't very cost effective, but I buy a lot of fat quarters for my quilting stash. I just pick up a couple I like and then wander from bin to bin picking out things I think look good together. Sometimes I go conservative, but mostly not too much. I love lots of color. I also buy 2 or 3 yards at a time of things I like a lot. That usually gives me a focus fabric plus enough for the back of the quilt (I haven't done anything bigger that a lap quilt so far).