Wow! $13 a yard seems quite high, even to someone living in a super expensive city. I think even the LQS here isn't that high. I've only paid that much for something that I love so much I can't live without it, or backings that are 108" wide. Check out online stores, a lot of them have daily deals and sales that bring the prices down. I've found
http://www.fatquartershop.com/ to be pretty reasonable.