Oh dear, that is just an awful thing to have happen. I am so sorry to read this. You are right though, often people just don't realize how much time and effort (let alone cost) has gone into making our quilts.
I belong to a quilting group (a couple of them actually) and one of the groups the ladies each made a block and signed it then put the quilt together. The leader of the group brought it to me when I was in hospital having my cancer treatment. I thought it was so sweet of them all to think of me this way. Love the quilt. Of course the following weeks went past in a blur and I forgot about the quilt. I had it with me in hospital for a couple of weeks but then sent it home as I was worried something terrible would happen to it. Several weeks after coming home I suddenly remembered that quilt and couldn't find it. What panic occurred as I imagined all sorts of scenarios for what had happened to it. To make it worse I had looked at the wrapped quilt twice while searching for it and yet not seen it. Anyways to make a long story short, it is now on our bed with another (it is winter here).
I have given away all except 2 of the quilts I have made so far and with out fail all of them have been put away and are not in use (well 2 I don't know about). I have just accepted that this is the way some people are and I don't really mind as I make the quilts because I enjoy doing this. Apart from two (and I have kept one) of them all of the others have been smaller quilts.
Cheers
Maybe1day