Upon deciding I would take on the challenge of the sampler quilt, fabric was to be purchased.
Picking a color – There are entire classes and tutorials around the color wheel and determining a color scheme for a quilt. I took a strange road by spending large amounts of time with laptop or the iPad and putting colors together using various applications like MS Word and doodle types of apps. I decided on blues and grays. Of course, once the shopping began, the color scheme expanded to include some purples for accent.
The book, Learning to Quilt: A Beginner’s Guide, hereafter referred to as “The Book.” — The book was kind enough to outline some basic ideas for the colors and amounts of fabrics.  Dark, Mediums, Lights, Very Light and amounts of each.  I went forth to the craft store, and I purchased.
I now had my basic tools.  I am ready to make my quilt.