One time I made a small paper-pieced project for an old friend. It was a "stained glass cross"--a very clever pattern, and I had found the perfect fabrics for it. I made the mistake of showing it to my pushy neighbor who then demanded that I make one for her. I knew she wouldn't let up, so I made a different project for her--same size and technique. I hated every minute of it and it's the one project I've ever made that I don't have a picture of. My heart simply wasn't in it.
My immediate family is small, and I did manage to get a quilt made for each person this Christmas, in addition to making a wedding quilt for my son and my new daughter-in-law. I've been quilting for about a year and a half, and with the exception of the first quilt I made, every one was given away to someone else.
Now it's the new year, and I intend to work only on projects that I want to do. I am nearly finished with the first quilt I've made specifically for myself. If anyone asks me to make a quilt for them, I plan to tell them that I have a looooooong waiting list of projects and that I'll put them on my list. Who's to know that I don't have a list!