I guess I am different in that I like to work with new fabric and don't wash it before I use it. I don't wash it after I finish unless it is a charity quilt that requires it. I think they look old and used if they are washed. I don't drag mine across the floor if I can help it. No cats or dogs, either. When we had cats, they always liked to lay on whatever I was working on. When I would get a quilt in the frame to hand quilt, I always found a spot that sagged where they had been laying.