I had a similar experience. I made my mother-in-law an afghan and she said she loved it but whenever we went to visit it was always put away. She lived on a farm and I found out years later that she was so afraid she would ruin it by washing it that she kept it under wraps. She actually really treasured it and was afraid to use it for fear of ruining it. I believe that happens a lot with older people as with their generation nice things were a lot harder to come by. In the end she gave it to my daughter who now treasures it.