I too thought that it was way to much fabric but a friend who saw her during one of her webcam sessions, said that it was because of the number of seams. I just got her book Leaders and Enders and Bonnie suggests that the front would require 25% more than the back. Fourteen yards seems like more than that but I suspect some of the extra does allow for having a nice variety of fabric in each color. I think it was in the first thread mentioning Easy Street that one quilter who has done earlier mystery quilts suggested that 13 different prints in each color is ideal. I haven't gotten that many but it did make me push the envelop and get more than I had first planned. I got a new blade for my rotary cutter yesterday and am looking forward to Friday's kickoff.