I usually buy smaller quantities and use lots of different fabrics, just because it's fun. So if I like it I buy 1/2 or 1 yard. For border fabric I buy 3 yards, or for background. I hardly ever use only one background fabric. Then I just pull out everything in the colors for the current project and cull until there's about twice as much as I need, and then cut. When the last piece of a fabric gets used, we hold a small ceremony,