I totally understand your pain at your hard work unappreciated. I've sort of decided to hone my quilting skills by giving everyone I know a potholder I've made. It's such a good, fast,easy way to use scraps and not invest a lot of money.
I'm working on my very first quilt, baby-size and boy have I learned a lot from all my booboos.
Could someone comment on the best quilt designs for beginners or baby quilts. I tried my first FMQ on a potholder and it will be a long time til I do that again.