Report from the area-wide garage sales: I did really well. I bought one 3.5 yard piece of heavy twill, almost a canvas, to make some tote bags. $1. My sister shopped my stash & took about 3 yards, and we also cut out enough pieces to make 25 Beads of Courage Bags, which used up about 15 or so yards. Now just need to stitch these up, but they go really quickly. If you are interested in doing some charity sewing but don't have the time to make a quilt, this is a great option:
http://www.beadsofcourage.org/pages/quilters.htm