I had this written yesterday when the board went down. I saved it.....
I think when you make charity quilts, what you do exactly, should depend on the target audience.
Quilts to go to moms--make them pretty. They need something beautiful in their lives. If they are drug addicts--get the advice of the people who work at the shelter (assuming it is through the shelter). They probably know better than you do.
Children...make them with neat fabrics that kids like.
Homeless men on the streets. Make them of double knit and/or extremely durable. They care less about how beautiful they are than that they keep them warm.
It isn't demeaning to evaluate needs and plan your quilt for the intended recipient. (Seems only smart to me.)
And BTW, someone gave me a double knit blue top which I finished into a quilt. I thought it was hideous. But one lady chose it over 50 other more traditional fabrics...
So each to his own.
I wouldn't think anyone would actually make an "ugly quilt" on purpose, would they? I mean, a simple quilt made out of sheets and blanket wouldn't necessary have to be ugly would it?
Several mentioned good workmanship. Why would anyone purposely do anything with bad workmanship?
BUT, to those who don't know quilts, long stitches (because you are learning FBQ) are not even noticed. Honestly. Not perfect points are completely ignored by children if the fabric is what they love.
So, we need to think "what is appropriate?" as we work. Of course, this is a perfect way to learn new skills, but the end product needs to be decent looking. No scrunched up fabric, ridiculous pleats and uneven (completely) squares with strange things going on. If it is terribly done (workmanship), then by all means, give it to the animal shelter! But it needs to be really bad, IMO, as animals can use our worn out ones--not new ones. They certainly don't know the difference!