I always wash layer cakes, and they typically shrink to about 9.25x9.5. And they almost always shrink more in one direction than the other. I buy them for variety, so the shrinkage does not cause me problems. But seeing the amount of shrinkage, and the lack of uniformity in the shrinkage has been an eye opener.
As to bleeding, it takes two fabrics for this to happen, one that will release dye, and one that will accept dye. I've encountered times where a bleeder washed with other colors only has affected some of the fabrics, and the others don't show any change. I had one navy turn three pinks into blue/pink, and not affect several other pinks, and not change the white fabrics at all.
I always use color catchers, and lately I've experienced a lot more dye release with the blues/purples. I just bought some fat quarters of Christmas fabrics (lots of reds and greens) and the color catches only showed a hint of color change. I find batiks seem release more dye consistently than others.