I love to buy clearance kits just to get a great selection of fabric for an incredible savings (and build my stash :)) and if I don't like the pattern or have extras, I just give it to another quilter who likes it.

Do you buy quilt kits?
 

Your question just made me realize what a control freak I am when it comes to fabric. I don't buy kits because I always decide I'd rather pick out my own fabric. I also don't do mystery quilts (why spend all that time making a quilt you might not like?). And I don't buy precut stacks (charm squares. etc). I might like the fabric on top of the stack but have no idea what the rest of the fabrics look like, and I'm afraid to risk what might be a disappointing purchase. My stash and I are very comfortable with each other and like each other a lot.

I do both ... depends on the quilt and the price, some kits are reasonable, others are SO overpriced !
If it really REALLY appeals to me and has unique fabrics, I will go for the kit. I may not find THOSE fabrics again ! Otherwise, I'll get the pattern or book, and sew from my stash ! and I usually buy books, a much better value than single patterns

I agree like the yellow brick road pattern, I could never do it in those colors but I have done it with yellow,orange,pink and purple for a little girl in a hospital. Or blues,greens and browns for a little boy.

My first quilt was just 6" blocks, cut with scissors, from scraps or used clothing. No pattern. I have done a couple of Block of the Month quilts, and am currently working on one, from kits. I have seen kits I'd love, but the price usually seems excessive to me. My sense of color needs help, so I am not opposed to following the lead of the colors suggested in the pattern.

I normally prefer to put together my own fabrics BUT in saying that, if I see a kit where I love ALL the fabrics in it then I would buy it. Saying that, I think I've only purchased 5-6 kits so far, but I'm not opposed to buying more :)

I buy patterns, If I bought kits I am afraid I wouldn't finish it or like it and they are expensive.

Many of the kits are beautiful and of course the convenience is a terrific factor for those who don't like to cut out and want to get on with making the finished quilt (to say nothing of the precision cuts of the kit pieces). But as for myself, I haven't and wouldn't buy one because I diligently prewash every piece of fabric that goes into my quilts. If there are many different fabrics within a quilt kit, surely some will shrink differently from others or darker colors may bleed onto light. If there are kits that are guaranteed to be prewashed until there's no likelihood of uneven shrinkage or bleeding, it'd like to know where they're available.

I have bought 3 kits. 2 were BOM kits - both at the same time. I worked on them for a while and now they sit ( it has been a couple of years).

I also bought another kit at a quilt show years ago. I have never even started on it. I loved the colors and the look of the pattern. However, when I read the directions - I hated it. You cut squares of specific sizes (some larger than others). Then you centered a smaller square on top of a larger square and topstitched around the smaller square. Then you cut out the larger square from behind the smaller square. I think you then used the cut out portion of the larger square on top of some other square. This method just didn't appear to me. I intend at some point to make a quilt with the same look but different construction techniques.

I don't buy the kits primarily because they are so expensive. Plus, like someone else already said, I do make mistakes and am very grateful to have extra fabric to fix them. I try to find fabric on sale when I buy it, so spending $200 or more for a kit doesn't make sense. There are tons of free patterns online too.