Another one is gone

I went quilt shop hopping yesterday. I didn't set out to do that, but when one shop doesn't have what you need you hit the next one and next one and so on until you find what you want. I went to three shops all within about 25 minutes of the house. The last shop I went into, which was also the closest, is closing their doors. She was the local Bernina dealer too!
She said with the bad economy, price of gas, price of cotton and her rent going up she could no longer stay open. This makes me sad. This is the only Bernina dealer for about 30 miles. That is not a far drive, since I used to have to drive over an hour to get to a dealer. I am just whining because I was getting used to a three minute drive.
The sad part is, if it was just one or two of the issues she said she might have been able to stay open. She was trying to resist raising prices on the fabric, but when she had a $4,000 a year rent increase on top of the cotton prices and then gas prices keep inching up and yada yada yada...you all know the story.
I am not one who thinks it is my responsibility to keep all the quilt shops in business, but I do believe I should shop local first. It just makes sense to let my $ help keep my neighbors in beans and rice.
I'm rambling now...
I'm sad to see another one close...