I agree with you so very much!!! I have a quilt from the 1880s that, although somewhat fragile, is still strong enough to be used. What is a quilt, anyway? They were designed and used to keep the family warm before there was such a thing as forced air heating. Some of the beautiful art quilts done these days will never cover a bed. They may hang on a wall for a while, but will be folded and put away somewhere eventually. Maybe the family will one day donate some to a museum or art gallery...but those are rare indeed. If your family cannot enjoy the use of the quilt, really, why bother? The quilts we donate should be quilts we would give to our own family. At least in the types of fabrics we use, if not the amount of work we put into the piecing. It's like buying a Cadillac and leave it sitting in the driveway because you don't want a fender-bender spoiling it.
In My HUMBLE Opinion!!! :-)