Originally Posted by OHSue
I have been quilting for about a year, have actually made very few quilts but have done some doll quilt swaps and block swaps.
In fact I have only made three full size quilts, one for a neighbor when she was going through chemo, one for her first grandchild and one for my dad. My neighbor cried when I gave her the quilt. She delivered the baby quilt to her daughter when she had the baby, I have never even had her acknowledge the quilt and I have seen her pretty often and see the baby every weekend. When I gave my dad the quilt I thought he would really appreciate it since his mom made quilts. Well I don't think they had it out of the gift bag for 30 seconds, his wife said, Oh yeah, that's nice and stuffed it back in the bag.
I was so proud of those quilts and it just broke my heart to see that two of the three were truly not even appreciated, probably not even wanted. That has really put a damper on me wanting to make any more gift quilts.
What kind of relationship do you have with your stepmother? Could that be a factor in her crappy attitude when you gave your dad the quilt? Even though it appears that your dad "dropped the ball" when you gave him the quilt, I say (a) be glad your neighbor appreciated your thoughtfulness and your efforts and (b) chalk the other 2 up to people who lack sensitivity (and/or manners). I hope you continue to make quilts and thoroughly enjoy the process, whatever you decide to do with them when they are complete.