Generations of my family sewed almost every bit of their clothing, quilting was a way to recycle and use every morsel of cloth. The idea of purchasing fabric specifically for quilting was a concept they would never have understood and would have thought it frivolous spending.
My Mom was the same way she used bits of fabric left from garment construction. When the rotary cutter became "main stream" that when she started to purchase fabric for quilts. Its kind of funny , I started purchasing fabric for quilting only after moving from my parents home, and before the rotary cutter was "main stream". At that time I was lucky to actually finish one per year... the cutting always got so boring.