I have waffled back and forth on this question many times over the years. At first I bought only what I needed for a project. Then I bought what I thought I loved in big quantities. Next I just bought FQ's to try to match up with my stash. Then I just tried to work only from my stash. Last year I went on a 10 day shop hop and purchased lots of kits. Finally I have realized that where I started at is what made me the happiest in my work. I like to have complete control over all of the fabrics I'm using in a project and I don't like to feel like I have to use just what I have because I have it already. I'm not really enjoying having a stash to feed and take care of anymore either. Too many pieces in it that I love but have never been able to make work in any of my projects and that makes me feel bad for buying it in the first place. So I'm going to go back to my roots when I'm next in a position to start picking and choosing again and will just work on one much loved project at a time. It's kind of funny too that my first several quilts were completely made up by me when I chose just one focus fabric to work with and then built the rest of the quilt and fabric choices around that main fabric. No one else even got to have a say in the patterns. It was pure bliss now that I look back at everything I've done. For me...less is more.