I am reaching the same conclusion, Tartan. My issue is not so much the colors running as it is that the strips are often cut wonky and I lose between 3-5 (minimum) per strip set.I dislike wasting anything. And not prewashing which gets out the excess chemicals and color and allows shrinkage to happen before sewing. Mainly I buy yardage now. Sync,I made a beautiful quilt and it was handquilted by the Amish. The first time I washed it (before knowing about Color Catchers, etc.) the cranberry red bled. The quilt is pretty much toast and stays folded in the closet. Sad. I didn't even think to look to see if the red bled before drying it in the dryer. Lesson learned.