I'm rapidly moving from sad to mad. Well probably more frustration than mad.
There were dubious circumstances around the fabric purchase. What I mean is - the quilt shop owner is relatively bossy (not many LQS' rurally). When I came in for backing fabric (for 2 projects) she just pulled out the fabric and said "this one will work" (teal is a hard color to match to). I didn't even get a chance to look at the shelf.
She was aware that I was hand quilting these projects. She was also aware that this particular project was for my Mum. (I think that is a big deal - perhaps it wasn't for her?).
Anyway - she said the fabric wasn't of the best quality so I should prewash it. Which I did. I also heat set it by drying it outside. The fabric shrunk a LOT. Which I really wasn't happy with. Good thing I bought extra. Because it shrunk so much it was an absolute mare to quilt through.
I'm really disappointed with the current outcome, and really disappointed with the quilt store. I thought I did everything to ensure no bleeding would occur.
Not sure what the moral of the story is... How much do you need to wash fabric before you use?