Jingle, I also make and give my quilts away as gifts. Yes, my time and money is worth a lot but the joy I give to others when I hand them something they had no idea was coming to them makes up for all the sweat and sometimes tears I spent creating it. True I decide the colors and pattern I try to match up with the recipent's style. Months in advance I ask questions so I have an idea how to go about it so by the time they finally get it, they've totally forgotten I had asked them anything.
A quilt I started for my mother 4 years ago in her colors is now going to someone else on my list as my mother's colors have changed since then but another quilt I had made just to try out the pattern she decided she liked so no loss. The 1st quilt fits the colors for the 2nd person so again no loss. This person will be getting her quilt at the end of the month when I finally get the binding sewn on.