Cheryl, that was a very clever idea putting the plastic tubing on the rack!
I expected I might get differing opinions about washing vs. not washing the strips, but I wanted to hear from as many quilters as I could about their experiences. I am a very busy mama with a houseful of kiddos, and I like to keep things simple. I don't want to have to iron all those strips! My quilt is going to be a very simple scrappy looking strip quilt. I much prefer a crinkled quilt to a smooth one, so I guess it will be ok to wash AFTER it's done, instead of washing all the fabrics before. I will definitely use color catchers! Thanks for all the input, everyone.