I agree with GingerK, the most important part is that you give with a full heart, and you seem to have found that path for yourself. It is a very personal thing, and we all have our own way.
For me, I find that when I set out to make a specific quilt for a specific person, it gets very difficult to stay motivated. I start to dread the process, I make more mistakes, it takes longer, and I start to dread the process.
So I generally only make quilts I enjoy and want for myself. But then, while I am working on a quilt, I often find my mind wandering to a certain person, and I will just know that is who it belongs to. On the rare occasions that I have finished a quilt and actually believe it might just be mine, someone will come along within a few days and "claim"it.
I never manage to keep a quilt long enough to build up a gift stash! In fact, I only actually have two quilts of my own, lol- a well-worn scrappy I have had for years, and one I just finished a few months ago and decided to keep because it just happens to match the color I painted my room.
As for storing, well, I haven't had to figure that one out yet! lol