Interesting to read through this post. I love to feel the fabric I buy, too, so really appreciate buying my stuff in person. That said, I am retired, and between Soc. Sec. which changed it's rules (unfavorably for me )when I was 61, and Wall Street, (day traders with computers have carefully harvested a lot of our savings), we are financially strictly ON A CAREFUL COURSE. So I only buy what I need for a specific project, and spend a lot of creativity making quilts from scraps. The other thing I have noticed is generational. The younger generations are not as interested in the quilting as we boomers, I suspect. They are looking for quick answers and love their technology. Although my grandchildren have received several wonderful quilts from me, they love, love, love the new fluffy, cozy wraps, and I don't especially blame them. So a number of factors are playing in here. The one thing I just always remember is the quote: "The only constant is CHANGE" and I'm sure we can count on that.