I've had both a good and bad experience. One quilt I made specifically for someone (my nephew) was definitely appreciated and he reminds me each time he sees me how much he loves it. When he joined the Air Force and could only take a few personal things with him during traing, he made sure to tell me that his quilt was going with him in the first load. Another was specifically made for a soldier serving in Iraq who lost his leg. He was a member of the unit that my "adopted" soldier was commanding. I even designed a special label on it commemorating his batallion, company and unit and incorporated the design on their "war" patches to be part of the quilt. I wrote a letter to include with it and everything. Never have received a word back from him, although I do know through "my" soldier that it was received. Was really disappointed with this experience, as a lot of love and effort went into that one. :(
Now my quilts are all donations to the women's shelter or anonymously for wounded soldiers. I can make up their reactions in my head and feel like they understand the significance of a hand-made quilt and that they really appreciate them. Ignorance can be bliss...and I'd rather be ignorant about their 'real' reactions if they don't appreciate them and I pretend instead that they love and cherish them. :wink:
And, I had to laugh at Janeen's post about House Hunters. I've shouted the same things at the screen in frustration. I was tickled pink when got our first teeny-tiny old run-down place, and to see these spoiled brats complaining about perfectly good (and better than we had) things needing to be replaced just blows my mind. They're the types who would look down on a 'homemade' gift regardless of the sentiment and cost and workmanship put into it. Grrrrrr! :evil:
Another thing we unfortunately need to keep in mind is that the whole concept of saying a proper Thank You for ANY gift seems to be lost. A whole generation is growing up with expectations of gifts and 'things' with no real appreciation or thought to say Thanks for them. Such a shame when common manners like this disappears. :thumbdown: