Bearisgray - I do so agree with you. I don't care for the puckered look -- especially for table runners -- and do shrink my W&N washing it in hot water and drying in a hot dryer (just got a new steam dryer and I wonder if I use that option could I avoid the washing step --- hmmmm). I use a lot of W&N, but also Hobbs 80/20.
I also agree about the randomness of fabric shrinking. I have washed fabrics from the same line and some shrank and some did not. When I started quilting again in 2000 or so, I did not wash any of the modern fabrics, figuring that the companies had solved the problem of shrinkage and after making a few quilts that shrank really funny I started pre-washing. One reason I don't like precuts is that they don't lend themselves to pre-washing.