The worst thing that has happened to one of my quilts happened to the very first one that i ever hand pieced, and the second quilt i ever made. I made it when i was 18 years old. It was a blue and white Drunkards Path. I backed it with flannelette. My sister was living with me about 7 or 8 years after i made this. The backing had worn out, and I was planning on taking it apart, and requilting it. I went out of town for the weekend. She had a little party with a bonfire. They ran out of wood, and she told everyone "I know something that we can burn". So she ran inside, grabbed the quilt and threw it on the fire.
When i got back she told me that she got rid of that "old quilt". I almost cried. She never made a quilt before, so she didn't realize the work that went into it. She now quilts, so she knows what a horrible thing she did. LOL, at least she hasn't thrown anymore into the fires.
Another sad story, my MIL gave my husband a couple of quilts that HIS grandmother made. They were wearing out, so i took one apart, (5" hexagons) made of cordouroy. A lot of the pieces were worn out, so i scoured thrift shops and found old clothing that i cut new patches from. I sewed it all together and requilted it. I gave them to my step-daughter for her kids, unfortunately, they were all lost in a house fire a couple of years later.
They wanted me to make new ones for them, but my step-daughter started quilting herself, and SHE now realizes how much work goes into a quilt.
I know my Drunkard's Path is in a better place. I haven't made another one yet, but i still might make one. We shall see.