I guess I fall into that catageory in a few ways. I do a lot of chairty sewing. I make about 20 Linus quilts a month, sew Princess Pillowcase dresses and have volunteered to make hospital gowns for children in Haiti. I shop for fabric for those projects in particular everywhere and anywhere. I probably average less than $2 a yard for fabric for those projects by hitting sales, using coupons and thrift stores. The little dresses use bias tape for the shoulder straps. I purchase the quilt binding size tape and cut it lengthwise into four pieces. Each dress requires two pieces 32inches long. By cutting it that way I can get 4 times as many sets of straps out of one package of bias tape. Our local Walmart is expanding into a Super Walmart and they just added a fabric department. They have pretty floral fabric for just $2 a yard. It is poly but it is perfect for the little dresses as it is light weight and will look good without ironing. Between it and the tape trick the little dresses cost me less than $2 a piece to make. I do own four Bernina machines and a Brother embroidery machine but each is used almost daily and I have made literaly thousands of items over the years. I don't smoke, or have my nails done I color my own hair and mostly read books from the library or yardsale paperbacks. My biggest vice is going out to lunch with my friends. Most of my clothing came from Walmart, on sale when ever possible. Lets face it I'm cheap.