If I think about it, my stash is totally made up of fabric I came upon that was at a good price.
Ok, so I see fabric at a good price. If I love it, and the price is extremely low compared to the quality, I usually buy 5 yards. As the 'love' goes down, and the price goes up, I might buy up to a yard.
I very rarley buy fat quarters, except one time they were .99, and were a good quality so I bought quite a few. Since then, there have been several times that I'm glad I bought them (it is soooo not in my nature to buy a quarter of a yard, no matter how they cut that quarter)

It all comes down to what makes you happy!

There is NO rules in stash building! If you lean toward scrappy quilts then you might purchase FQ's or 1/2 yards. Also the size of quilts you prefer to make can sway you in your yardage purchase.

Of course budget could can play into the purchases. The main thing is to do what makes YOU happy. :)

I used to buy 1/2 - 1 yard of whatever caught my fancy.

I'm totally with Shelbie & the others. I have piles of "I LOVE IT"s. But, when it's time to plan a quilt, I still have to buy. One table topper I did totally from my pink/blue calicos, scrappy style. But true scrappy is you are using up your scraps & I was cutting from my 1/2 y collection.

Now, I'm buying blenders & solids, unless there's an amazing sale. So, my fabric budget, and using 40-50% off coupons is going for those.

I'm a sucker for floral stripes, I always see "wonderful border" in those.

I saw a card trick done in stripes that I love, so now, if I see a stripe I like, I buy a 1/4 y.

Also trying to collect large pcs for backings.

If I absolutely love the fabric....4 yds. If I like it..3 yds. If it's pretty and I think I need some, 1 yd. Fat quarters are fun to collect. Choose some light shades, some medium shades and some dark shades. Only takes 6 to make a throw. Have fun! :D

If a fabric catches my eye, I will buy 3 yards, if it is one that screams I must go home with you I usually buy 6 yards. I am trying not curb my fabric buying as my stash is bigger than I will ever use up completely. I have a good collection of blenders, wow, coc, solids and focals. My biggest is my batiks.

Have a Happy 4th.

since I do not live near any quilt shops. When I do shop, I usually buy 3 yds. Having a project in mind. Anything left over goes into scarp bag. Larger goes into my stash, which I am surprised at how much stash I have. It's growing

I tend to buy 1-3 yards, or 7 if I think it will make a good backing. I now have so much unorganized fabric that I am going on a buying diet until I can really see what I have and what I might need. I have purchased the same fabric more than once because I forgot I already bought it!!

Am I the only one that collects FQ's? I do also buy anywhere from 1 to 3 yards of fabric. I have a lot of FQ"s also.

I started buying what I liked and when it was time to make the quilt I didn't have the blender. I'm now collecting batik, tone on tone. Have fun collecting.

It really depends on what YOU Like to make! If you think you might be scrappy then 1/3 yard is good...for borders 3yds, for backings 6-8yds!

IF you do not like scrappy but like things like the Turning Twenty, then FQ collections are good...if you like patterns that are very detailed and planned...then do not buy anything until you buy the pattern so you buy correctly!