To me, a new "heirloom" quilt is one that is not used. It's treasured either because of who made it, or the work that went into it, or both. (This is separate from old quilts that have become heirlooms by being passed down)
I specifically do NOT make 'heirloom' quilts. I make quilts that are intended not only to be used, but to be USED UP. My fondest wish is for them to come back to me in tatters so I can patch them up and send them back out in the world, just like Gran used to do for all of ours.
If one of my quilts becomes an heirloom I want it to be because someone kept it out of love, out of all the fond memories of years of picnics and couch forts, and I want all the patches and repairs to be part of that, just like MY baby & childhood quilts that I still have after all these years. That's what gives me warm fuzzies.
