I have been quilting less than a year so don't have much experience here. My first quilts were for 3-year-old grandsons. No problem there! One of them insists that the monkeys on his quilt talk to him and play with the green dog Ryan who lives under his bed. What better appreciation can you get? :)
My Mother is a picky person. Decorator-style home - buys excellent quality and lives with it for decades. I hesitated to give her anything since we are so different. For Mothers Day I gave her two table toppers. She loved them and shows them off to her friends. So for her birthday in July she'll get a quilt. I already have the top pieced and will have it professionally quilted. So ... when in doubt ease into it?
I made my daughter a snowman-themed quilt for Christmas and also gave her a quilt rack. I expected the snowmen to be put away with winter decorations, but it's on the rack in their bedroom along with a T-shirt quilt made by my SIL's grandmother. I feel in very good company there - that sweet lady is a master quilter!