Do whatever works best for you... I do stash fabric, mainly because I buy when I find it on sale, clearance, and any other really good deals. I could not afford to just walk into a shop to buy for a project, paying full price-- so I stash it when it's cheap and then "shop my stash" to make my quilts. I also stash nice 100% cotton shirts for quilting.... lots of good fabric there for $.50 to $1.00 per shirt!