What a beautiful barbeque! What a great memory for your friend.
I have one quilt that I use regularly on our table...I just love the feel of it on there. The quilts in our house that have the most love are the ones that are dragged about and used during movie night...I have one my mother made when I was a kid right now outside, it was a "fort" and then it rained so it's left outside a few days until it's dry (it keeps getting rained on)...no biggy, it's been washed a million times, it'll be fine.
My daughter has had a quilt for about 5 years that I made her (she's now 12)...and she regularly wraps herself in it when she's drawing and using markers. I noticed a couple of marker stains that didn't come out in the wash...you know what? She remembers what she was drawing at the time and it's a happy memory for her. Maybe she will remember still when she has kids and lets them use the quilt.