I spent the first 5 years of my now 30+ years quilting career regularly buying 1/2 to 1 yd. blender fabrics to build my stash.
Blenders are those fabrics that almost read as solids from a distance; they compliment and can be used with many different larger print focus fabrics; they are best without a lot of contrast in their small prints; they cover the value spectrum from very light to very dark within each color.
Eventually I had collected 12"-14" high folded stacks of blues, reds, green, yellows, pinks, purples, aquas, blacks, and neutrals......most one yard or less in length. From these I can now make king-sized quilts directly from my own stash. I still buy fabric this way, picking blenders that appeal to me without haaving a particular quilt or pattern in mind. Now when I find a larger "theme" print that I can't live without I usually have most the complimentary fabrics I need to go with it. I recently made a curved log cabin quilt in yellow, aqua, and red using 30 different fabrics from my stash in those colors. It is my favorite quilt and I've taught workshops on this pattern.
Wish I had a photo.
Jan in VA