I also try to stick to my stash and only supplement it when I absolutely need to.
I think part of the point of the FQ thread (no pun intended!) was that patterns often call for a fat quarter and are talking about a very specific minimum measurement. I would rather know that my FQ purchases meet that minimum measurement and pay a bit more than find out after I've purchased the FQ that it's not going to work because it's an inch smaller all around.
The article was very interesting. I wonder what it would take to get American farmers growing more cotton and bringing American companies production back to the US. For example, what kind of prices per yard would we have to pay to get production going back here in the US. I know I would be willing to pay more for fabric from cotton grown here and yardage produced here, especially when it would provide much needed jobs. Maybe the US fabrics companies could do this as a coop.
Okay, I've drifted off too far...