My LQS is not really helpful or welcoming...unless you are a regular who spends lots of $$$ there.
I once asked if they could help me figure out a pattern that needed TONS of half-square triangles. I didn't like the method the book suggested and I wanted to find out if I could use Thangles. She was completely unwilling and said there was a class available where I could work on any project I wanted. I told her I didn't want a class (had just completed one), that I just wanted to know how to figure out the triangles. She basically told me unless I took the class, no one was willing to look at the pattern with me. I was very dissapointed.
I would prefer to shop a Joann's fabric. The fabric is cheaper and the staff have always been willing to answer any of my questions to the best of thier knowledge.