I gift mine too. Sometimes, I have a recipient in mind and use something in their interest/color way. Other times, I make a quilt because I want to try a new pattern or use up some fabric and I have nobody in mind. Then I wait for that person who falls in love with it and bingo....it has a new home.
The first quilt I made for my mom never got used. So I made her a utilitarian one and wrote a poem to go with it. The poem was from the viewpoint of the quilt. It talked about the purpose and the love; basically a "I don't care if you sit on my quilt" for adults. She uses it regularly. I would post the poem but it is in German and doesn't translate well.