I think like everything, inflation and the economy affects the price of things. It's not necessarily Washington's fault, it just happens. I sure hate to see those local quilt shops go under. Makes me sad to hear that. I think the majority of those shops sell their wares at reasonable markup and they don't take advantage of their consumers. They deserve to make money and prosper. And keep us in affordable fabric! It's the greedy folks that ruin it for everyone. They inflate the value of everything and turn people off. We as consumers are not dumb. Those shops will die out because they don't know how to properly market their fabrics. No great loss, right? Good riddance.