Asking for a quarter yard (meter) of lots of fabrics is par for the course in a quilt shop. I'm not sure about Canadian shops, but every US shop I've been in has 'fat quarters' available as pre cuts that you can pick thru at the shop. Some shops do stock coordinated fat quarter bundles. If you do need several quarter yard cuts, just be patient and polite. Also, before you leave make sure that your pattern will work well with a fat quarter and doesn't need width of fabric cuts. Another thing is you don't need the same amount of each colorway. For instance, you can get a yard of one fabric, a 3/4 yard of another a half yard of a 3rd and a fat quarter.