I am new to quilting but my mom has been doing it forever. She said the same thing you were told. She says that she can find fabric in the quilting stores for about what Joann's is charging for theirs. My rule of thumb - I bought from the quilting store for the quilt that I wanted to last forever (not saying that I couldn't have done it with Joann's just used mom's rule of thumb) and I have used the Joann's or Walmart for baby quilts I have made for friends, and will use them for the quilts for my teens as they have great sales. But I think I will listen to others that have commented and do the feel test. Just my thoughts