$$$$$...I hear you, which is why I am really trying to use up my stash fabric before purchasing any 'new' fabric. Most of what I purchase is to add to my stash collections (purchased over the years) for certain projects (sometimes I need an extra 1/4 to 1/2 yd). My go-to background is American Made Brand Fabrics from Clothworks - lite cream), which I purchase by the 15-yd. bolt at a low price per yd.
However, I have found no fabric recently that feels nice to the hand the way fabrics used to feel. There are no quilt stores near me, so it's really hard for me to purchase when I cannot feel it and/or see the 'actual' fabric and what the true colors are. I hope to be making memory quilts from of my family members old clothing. Most of my stash (other than my new Fig Tree Christmas fabric) was purchased years ago, that's why it OOP and hard to find. However, blue/white quilts are my fave and I have a lot of prints in those colors (all Northcott, same blues). I was able to purchase 10 yds. of fabric for the back of my current quilt (needs 9-1/2 yds) from Michael's online for only $5.99/yd (also Northcott matches some of my fabrics).