Quilting

Quilting is a fun thing to do. 
A lot of people use patchwork & quilting as a therapy, to get away from the grind of everyday dramas or just to have some "me" time. This works well for most people - but be aware! -  it can be most addictive and sometimes costly if you can't stop buying those lovely fabrics that just happen to be there when you walk into a quilting store. You may have walked in to purchase something small - but walk out with 100's of $$$ worth of goods. That is fine - but how about looking at the fabrics that "talk" to you and sorting out a real project for them, that way you might not buy too much or too little of it. See below for a basic guide.
Buying too much is wasteful & not enough fabric is wasteful (if you can't get any more of it) when the time comes to start that special project. There is a lot to consider.
Shopping Hint:
Try to have a list of fabric requirements for some favourite quilt patterns entered in your phone or on a list in your handbag. That way you will never have a wasteful moment again. 
If notes are missing or just not an option, try this for a guide:
A small/lap quilt can be anywhere from 1.00mtr -1.30mtrs square. A medium Quilt is around 1.50 to1.70mts square and an average larger Quilt will be about 2.00 - 2.50mtrs square or close to this. An extra large size Quilt will be up to or more than 3 mtrs. 
To gauge the requirements for the borders, use the above sizes as a guide. 
You will need to buy any "border print" or all over print fabric by these measurements. It is best to cut the border fabric lengthwise, to eliminate unsightly seams in them. 
Border prints; Make sure there are 4 strips on it for your borders - one for each side of your quilt. 
Any quilt will require minimum 20cm more than the finished quilt size. Eg. medium = 1.70mtrs - 1.90mtrs.
If your quilt is rectangular, use the longest sides as a guide for the border requirements.
For the body of the quilt:
this can be very difficult to gauge without a pattern. But if you must have it?
In my experiences a large quilt may use 2.00 - 3.00mtrs for the main colour or background. The next colour may be 1.50 - 2.50mtrs with the others being about 1.00. a large quilt will take up to 7.00 or 8.00mtrs depending on how large or small the blocks/pieces are. The smaller the pieces the more fabric you will need. Much of the fabric is taken up by the seams when sewing with small pieces.

Be happy with the Quality of your purchase:
Sometimes we see a fabric that is very cheap. But look out for the quality before you purchase. 
Fabric "discounters" may use a lesser quality fabric with a fantastic print, so all you will see is the print. 
Be aware of this when visiting the larger discount stores for your fabric.