I used it once for sashing and a narrow border. I'm also a dedicated pre-washer of fabric and YES it's a magnet for all of the above. The quilt now resides in England and I only got to visit it once since I sent it over. It was well and good at that time (about 1 year after it's receipt), of course I have no idea how many times she washed it.
I didn't have any problem with the initial "fade" though. It was just as black coming out of the wash as it was going in. I had even used a dye catcher and I know the catcher wasn't darker.