I only really feel guilty about ones that were supposed to be for a specific birthday/wedding/new baby/new house/whatever and the designated gift giving time has passed by a significant amount.
I will eventually get them done!
I was thrilled a couple months back when I finally finished one that had given me fits every time I worked on it for a couple of years. Once I gave in to taking it completely apart and doing it a different way, it came together relatively quickly. And the recipient told me she valued it even more because it took so long to finish. I had made a pillow with one of the blocks from the original plan, so she got to see what I had intended to do as well. I also used the pieces left over from the redesign to make 3 more pillows for her, so maybe her kids won't fight over who gets mom's pillow, they get one too.