"Scrappy" quilts require more thinking from me when I try to make them than when I am making a quilt that uses the same blocks over and over.
I do agree that "scrappy" in the quilting world means using many different fabrics. Some of which may be leftovers from other projects. Some of the pieces are probably cut from a large piece of fabric to make the design work.
Non-quilters do not realize how much it costs to make a quilt. In fact, I was looking through the Keepsake Quilting catalog - first one I've gotten in years - and I was having sticker shock looking at the prices of the kits.