My guild makes a beautiful quilt each year and raffles it off at the annual show. I never enter the raffle because the quilts (in my opinion) are just too nice to use, and I don't have a place to display a quilt of that size so I just don't know what I would do with it other than store it. That seems a criminal thing to do with these quilts that so many talented people put their time into.
That's why I like my own quilts...I'm not afraid to use them, not afraid to let the dogs sleep on them or the cats to crawl over them, or to toss them on the ground for a picnic... If they get "battle scars" or stains that's just part of the charm and help tell the quilt's story. But I'd be devastated and feel terribly guilty if my cat snagged a claw on someone else's masterpiece that was in my care...
Funny, I never really thought about it that clearly...I guess that helps me understand why people are hesitant to use quilts I make for them. Hmmm...