I try to use fabrics I already have. If it is a specific quilt for a raffle we have been lucky to have donations. I will not or have I ever taken a class at a lqs that says you must buy the fabric there. I like to make sample blocks first and then decide what to buy. The sample piece might be wonderful but I'm not going to use the same colors so I want to see what the best layout is in my colors first. I understand why they are doing it but classes have gotten so expensive. I might take a class to learn a technique so why do you have to use new fabric? I buy fabric at the shops locally so they know I would go back for what I really wanted to use.