Scrappy as compared to Scrap quilts
 

From my vintage viewpoint, a "scrap" quilt was literally made from garment leftovers or salvageable areas of garments or linens.

I wish there was a different name than "scrappy" for a quilt made from many different fabrics.

So far, I have not come up with a one-word name that is adequately descriptive.

"Quilt made from twenty or more different fabrics to achieve a textured look" does seem a bit cumbersome.

Any one have any viable suggestions?

Is your angst with the word "scrappy"? Does it sound like cheapy leftovers? Does it conjure images of "anything goes" without cohesion? Or simply incongruous with the historic way which was (often, not always, as Mary Fons points out) using leftovers from garments and feed sacks?

My suggestion is simply to accept it. There have been many hundreds, if not thousands, of words that have changed their meanings in the last century in this country alone. It is how a language evolves.
When a person gets to a certain age, I feel it is an unheard whisper to say "I don't like how that word is being used now." One person isn't going to change it. The designers, the magazines, the book publishers, the huge multi-billion "quilting industry" has re-defined the notion of scrappy.

Quilt on. Enjoy yourself, challenge your skills, get creative. multitudes of fabrics are calling out and saying "Come play."

I'm starting to use the term "collections of fabric" because there really isn't a very good term for most of what I do. Sometimes it is modified with "planned scrappy". Charm is for unique pieces.

But I'm ok with scrappy, some of my fabrics are true scraps and now they are all scraps of my stash!

Because I am very literal-minded at times, there are some descriptions that - even though I know the current definition/descriptions for the term - do not seem to be adequate.

HST's for one. I can live with "HST units" for a square made of two triangles - but just HST for the unit irritates me.

Most of the time I have more useful things to fret about.

When I can't sleep at night, I see how far I can go with prime numbers. So far, every one that is greater than five, is either one less or one more than a number that is evenly divisible by 6.

If one has a left over odd size fabric, say 7"x4" for example, deep down in a random bin but it's not originally from a garment, does that count as a scrap? To me it certainly does. Generally for me, I don't even know where it came from.

Is it maybe that you have a hard time understanding someone who buys multiple brand-new FQs, for example, and then putting it all into a quilt and calls it scrappy?

Basic number theory. Quit counting and go to sleep. :) https://primes.utm.edu/notes/faq/six.html

I also use number patterns and puzzles to lull me to sleep. Maybe because it's so boring to me?

I have loved scrappy quilts always..I grew up playing with my grandmothers scrap bag and sewing for my dolls. We pay a lot of money for our fabric collections and I love what I create from my scraps. I wonder often why I purchase yardage when a stack of fat quarters is all I need. Yes, I am a “scrapper” and proud of it.