I did it. I bought the requested amount of background and had a lot left over, but I don't remember if it was a full 2 yards. There are quite a few parts where the pieces they tell you to start with are very "generous", so you might get by with the 9 yds.
I did it month-by-month when it was the BOM from TheQuiltShow, and really learned a lot about paper piecing, which I hadn't done a lot of. It was fun ... it was also fun to be done with it! well, with the piecing. I still haven't quilted mine!