Quilting is my artistic indulgence. I enjoy the process and creativity, and only make things that appeal to me. In my mind, every penny I spend on quilting is recreational, so I tend to spend wisely. My weakness is rulers, of all things (not frugal). I'm always looking for something that is more accurate and that I can see better. All three of my machines, a vintage Bernina 830, a restored Singer 15-91, and a Brother serger were gifts. (frugal) I use them all for garment sewing, but only one of them for quilting-- my Bernie.
Most of my quilting fabrics come from Thousands of Bolts because of the low prices (frugal?) and the site organization by colors. I have a cutting plan for all fabrics so they don't hang around in stash forever. (frugal?). I don't upcycle clothing or clothing fabric scraps in my quilts because the fabric is rarely suitable. (not frugal) So far, I haven't been able to find a local source for quality used men's shirts for a few dollars. Most of them are more expensive per usable inch of fabric than yardage from Thousands of Bolts. However, since I love shirting plaids, I will buy them-- (not frugal).
If I was guided only by frugality, I would spend much less money on cheaply manufactured bedding and use the quilting time for canning home-grown vegetables or some such activity. All in all, my hobby is not very frugal.