nmtonimarie

Definitely a catch 22. For us as customers and for the shop owners, too. My LQS owners are very aware of rising fabric prices. One of them told me more than a year ago that they were sticker shocked by the price of the cottons coming into the store and that even at $10 a yard she knows that her customers are going to start choosing between quilting and other expenses like gas for the car.

So I imagine the OP's shop owner knows that $15 a yard is very high but I'd bet that price does reflect her costs to stock the fabric.
It is tough. My LQS has wonderful classes and teachers. I stumbled in there a couple years ago out of curiosity. Then a quilting coworker got me a gift certificate which I used to take some beginning classes. The employees there are quilters and they do a show of their projects every year on top of making gorgeous and inspiring examples for the classes. I would really miss that if they were to go out of business. And I wouldn't have taken an interest if I hadn't been able to walk into a bricks and mortar store, I don't think.
I can't afford $15/yd either. The last few fabrics I've bought I picked up online for far less than that. But I do try to shop my LQS for gadgets, books, patterns and notions, just to try to give them some support.

I agree about the gadgets, too. There seem to be so many of them and for a real pretty price! I grew up with a mom who could sew everything under the sun with a pair of scissors, her 1959 Singer Slant-o-matic and little else. So whenever I see a slick new gadget that I supposedly can't continue sewing or quilting without, I ask myself "How did my Mom do that?" It's saved me a lot of money!