if you are going to take the time and effort to applique a baltimore album quilt get the best quality you can. Your quilt will be a family heirloom and you want it to last. I try to always buy fabric on sale. That said, if is going to be a quilt that will be used ,used, used, buy what you can afford. A lot of places have perfectly nice fabric for reasonable prices and they will hold up fairly well to lots of loving!