Peaceandjoy --Thank you for the compliment.
I always prewash everything and the homespuns sometimes bleed a bit more so another reason to prewash. I find that washing and drying the fabric tightens up the weave a bit. I gave the quilt to my sister who lives in another province so I have only seen the quilt once since I gave it to her years ago. It has held up well. There are no problems combining the HS with the cotton background, if anything, it stabilizes the block because of the tighter weave. Hope that helps.