Another suggestion ... I know some that are using polar fleece as the backing, plus it doubles as the batting.

My LAQ did a stack of quilts that way on her LAQ for her kids for Christmas a couple of years ago ... and they still look great!

Trade with others for fabric you want do fabric swaps. Barter, trade books and etc for fabric. Go to garage sales and etc and find bargains. Make scrappy quilts with your fabeic goes further. Piece your backing. Joann puts batting on sale use a coupon do whatever you ned to do to keep your hobby going.

I've been eying all those shirts and pants that "shrink" in the dryer. Instant fabric and I won't need to eat celery 24/7 to make them fit. Win, win! ;)

ROFL :thumbup:

I sell some bags and table runners that I make and that gives me some money to buy more fabric.

HANDPIECING IS A FAIRLY SLOW PROCESS, SO THAT SLOWS ME DOWN ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO SAFE UP FOR FABRIC AND BATTING. I ALSO DO MOSTLY HAND QUILTING. OOPS GOT CAPSLOCK ON.SORRY

Between wonderful friends who think of me when they want to downsize or turn over their scrap bins & what I've been able to get on e-bay at super low prices, I've been able to make a lot of lovely quilts. I don't waste very much; I sew bits of batting together to make enough for a lap robe/baby quilt & I do a lot of price comparisons, use coupons,shop thrift shops, flea markets & generally save whenever I can & I save my small change for a little splurge. You learn to work with what you have & be thankful.

We've given up some things. DH works a couple of days a week at a golf course to pay for his golf. I don't shop the way I used to for clothes and "stuff" for the house. My quilting comes first, but it's not always LQS fabric. I buy cotton shirts for a lot of my Linus quilts and fabric is donated to us thru Linus and our church also. No more expensive trips either.

I went crazy at tax time plus my angel sent me lots of wonderful fabric's so I should be good for a while.

Maybe you could trade scraps with another quilter for their scraps, do scrappy quilts.