When I wanted to make a quilt using plaids, I found plaid fabric was in short supply where I live; so, I headed to the local Goodwills and found an abundance of plaid 100% cotton shirts and the variety was almost endless.
Since that time, I have started purchasing tropical print shirts, again a wide selection. Some I cannot bare to cut apart so they hang in my closet and I wear them, they are soooo comfortable and they have POCKETS! But they do make great quilts as well.