I did not start quilting until several years into retirement, but my mom and I had both been garment sewers for our whole lives and that and denim blue jeans and old clothes was what I started quilting with. I still am not a dedicated LQS fabric quilter. I buy wool garment and cotton prints at thrift stores, for instance. I'm not sure it is a good idea to 'stock up' on fabric unless it is very generic. I have found my sense of color has changed a lot over the years. You would not believe how much mauve floral fabric I have! Yuck! You might want to start buying the staples of quilting before retirement - rulers, mats, rotary cutters, etc. because they are so expensive.