Were the quilts washed alone and not with other wash? I have had pills on stuff because a Kleenex wasn't taken out of the pockets. Now I had to get up and go look at a baby flannel quilt I made with flannel from JoAnn's quite some time ago. Keep it for when the kiddies viist. It never pilled and it is over 6 years old. When I wash them I wash them at a laundry place in those front loading tubs. I would never think of doing it in my top loading machine. Have two queen size flannel quilts and none have pills and they are over 4 years old. They have mostly QS flannel and some of JoAnn's when I couldn't find the color I wanted. Same thing..I wonder what causes the pilling. I'm making a twin size one for grand daughter in college and sure hope that doesn't pill. That is mostly all Quilt Shop. I do stars and other things on the blocks to quilt them. I also go around each block about 1/4 or 1/2inch next to the seam where they are sewn together and that secures the batting.