I have found that if I decide what I am going to make, how much fabric I will need, you can generally get by with 1/2 yard of this or 1/4 yard of that and you have fabric that is $10.00 a yard. That's what shocks you! Go for 1/2 yard - $5.00 or 1/4 yard - $2.50. I do pay the most for my backing at 108" and that is generally $10.00 yard and that I get at JoAnn's for 50% off. I love to buy fat quarters and fat quarter bundles. Sure you pay $9.99 for them but there are 5 fat quarters and use a coupon on that and you have 40-50% off. And then you use what you need and you have fabric left over for the next project where you want to match a block. I love to make Samplers and I have bits of this and pieces of that and everything one way or the other go together and I figure I paid for the original fabric for the one project and what I do with the leftovers is money in the bank! I can use the leftovers on 2-3 more quilts just by using the leftovers. I made a whole quilt with nothing but leftovers. I am working on two quilts right now with leftovers. Sometimes I can get beautiful fat quarters from JoAnn's or Hancocks for 99 cents (on sale). I may not use them today or tomorrow but for 99 cents, I'll get around to it. I am not making sense here, but I do know what I am trying to say. I hope you can understand me. Edie