Thanks Lori S! I will follow your instructions and wash, wash, treat the material before I start my next project. The material I have washed/treated in the past has been nicer to work with than not. Our quilt guild just finished a king sized quilt for the Georgia Quilt Museum and it was constructed mostly with donated batiks. Since we are from Cherokee County it incorporated the Trail of Tears and Cherokee Rose pattern plus an appliqued picture of a historical building in our county. It will be sent around the state for many months and finally be hung with other guilds' quilts at the Georgia State Capitol then later in the museum. This was a good experience for our 60 member guild. JC