That's really surprising. Quilt shows I've been to locally always have lots of fabric and patterns and notions for sale. I love seeing new things for sale and it's how I learned about the Sweet 16 machine about three years ago. Tried it out at three different shows before I finally bought mine from a dealer right in my own home town. At Vermont Quilt Festival in the summer there were whole booths dedicated to specialty threads and all kinds of fun things. It might depend on who is putting on the show and how hard they work to bring in good quilting vendors. I'd have been disappointed too. You are being realistic, not negative. At least that's my opinion.