I think you'd probably benefit by using EQ, you can view the patterns and the fabric to see how it looks. It comes with lots of fabric lines downloaded and there are lots more you can download too. The other thing I do is, I group fabrics together, take pictures and then study them a while. You say you don't go fabric hunting that often. Go to the store with what you have in mind to make, you can even use cardboard and cut out the outline of your patterns and lay it on the fabric to see kind of how it looks, take your camera. When you think you have what you want, take the pictures, go have lunch and then look at the pictures again and if you still like them, go back to the store and get them. I like doing my own thing which means even when doing BOM that comes with fabric, I end up buying lots more (like the civil war fabric) so that I can chose what I want. I get lots of compliments on my color choices and the way I put them together. The best compliment I get is like the one I got from my sister. I had picked out fabric to make a jacket and my daugher didn't like it, when I sent my sister it her comment was, it looks like you. I want what I make to reflect my style, rather its clothes or quilts. I do emb club and mine is always different because I have to go outside the box, its who I am. I hope some of this helped