When I first started out, I bought for projects, then bought when something was on sale if I liked it. I have a fairly small stash and buy mostly on sale FQ's now. My tastes have changed over the years and I'm glad I didn't have tons of stuff I no longer liked. (did have some, but sold it on EBay). Too much tends to be overwhelming! As for yardage, I have way more vintage sheet yardage than new fabric. I used to think a quilt needed "at least 5 fabrics" or it would be boring...now it's closer to 50 fabrics or it's boring! I only have 1 true UFO a couple of WIP's and a small container of orphan blocks. I work best if I start and finish a project before moving on. I just finished cutting up all of my scraps into squares and strips and the 2" squares are going into a couple of granny square quilts. The scraps took up a medium clear box and weren't very inspiring...now that they are cut I know what to do with them.

I have to buy fabric when I see something I love even if I have no idea what I want to do with it. Some of the time I use it right away but most of the time it ends up in my stash. Now I have a large stash that I need to start using.

I was gifted a lot of scraps/yardage that friends no longer wanted when I first started quilting. Most of the time I only have to buy backings. I love having a stash! It's fun to add a bit here and there to it as well, since I'm quilting most every day and therefore use a lot of fabric. ;-)

I used to buy only what I needed to complete a quilt, but in doing so I always ended up with scraps for another. Then I went crazy and bought a lot when local fabric stores went out of business. Now I shop in my stash first and only buy what I need to complete what I start.

Think it depends on your funds too. I on the other hand buy if the fabric talks to me with no idea what I might use it for. Just picked up a bolt of each of a black and a white of an Iowa fabric. Why? Because I live in Iowa plus its in white and its in black. Good background fabrics if nothing else. Like to have lots of variety in these tones. I know I'll never be able to use all the fabrics I have on hand at this moment and I'm trying to curb myself of buying just for the sake of buying but its like a disease to me. Plus I have a friend who also quilts and will come over to check out my stash 1st before having to go 25 miles to the nearest fabric store. Makes me feel like a fabric store in itself....

I have a large stash and am glad for it. I can use what I have and buy if I need a color. After retirement and loosing my husband, it would be much harder to make all the things I want to. Don't regret having it for a minute.

In an effort to organize myself I did a general purge. Now I am cutting and kitting for various projects. If I can only die after I've finished my planned projects, I will live forever! I am trying not to buy but yesterday I was at Fabric Depot (It is local for me) and I bought fabric to finish a project and fabric to make my DGD a dress! I should be sewing right now but here I sit at the computer! Geez!!

I've only been quilting for about a year and a half, so I don't really have a stash. As my skills have increased, I find myself venturing into creating different types of quilts; as such, I buy for specific projects. I am trying, however, to build a bit of a stash. Because of painful arthritis in my hands (and everywhere else!), I buy a lot of pre-cuts. As a retired teacher, my income is limited, so I have to take advantage of sales when they come along. I have started going to ARC (donated items for sale) to look specifically for fabric. In addition to my projects for family and friends, I make quilts for charity, both with my church quilting group and on my own. Consequently, I am finding it too expensive to buy new fabric all the time, so I am always looking for bargains. I do like to keep enough fabric on hand for 2-5 quasi-planned projects, though. I think I would like to have a nice stash of fabric -just in case, you know?