Used yes. My daughter stored the California king I made her in a storage shed and it got wet and was ruined. It was a rail fence. I would have rathered it was out and still used.

hopefully they were the cheap ones from walmart etc and not pieced

I make lots of kids quilts and I always attach a note saying ...Use it to curl up in, lay on the floor with it, lay on the sofa and cover yourself and the dog with it, make a fort or a tent with it, use it for a picnic blanket or beach blanket but PLEASE use it. Make memories with it, wash the heck out of it if you want, get grass stains on it or ants at a picnic. When they have loved it to rags I will be happy to make them another one. It would really hurt to find it folded up on a shelf because someone was saving it for 'good'.

I'm glad you brought that up. I would never have thought about it. I still hope he didn't use a hand made quilt, but something that could be picked up from a store.

I would much rather see my gifted quilts being used than never see hide or thread of them again!

I make special "toss around", just strip pieced or 9 patch or old jeans quilts, I tell the recipient that that is what that quilt is meant to be used for, but if it takes me a considerable time, and it is meant to be treated with dignity, I let them know that, too

I originally started this thread rather tongue-in-cheek. I wasn't really crying, they weren't MY quilts, and I think some of you got that, and understood that I was just having a bit of fun with the topic in this post.

But I will say this. There is a HUGE difference between "use" and "abuse". I do prefer that my quilts get "used". One of the first quilts I ever made was a flannel baby quilt with appliqued animals, done in all kinds of bright happy colors. The animals had chenille trim; the lion had a chenille mane, the elephant had chenille around his ears and at the end of his tail, the tiger had chenille stripes, and so on. When I gave the quilt to the baby's mom, she wanted to hang it on the wall. I said oh no no no you don't, I made this quilt to be laid on, barfed on, loved on, dragged around, cried on, and worn out. So she promised me she would not hang it. This was a woman I knew on a professional basis only, and she and I lost touch after the baby was born and she became a stay-home mom. Then I ran into her a few years later. She told me her daughter LOVES that quilt. She picks a different colored section to curl up in her hand every night at bedtime, and will not sleep without it. That brought tears to my eyes and made me feel wonderful. And THAT'S the kind of "use" I want it to have! I think using a quilt that someone toiled over as a moving blanket, becoming shredded and tattered in the wind, not to mention rain and road dust, shows disdain for the quilt maker and the amount of love and work that goes into making a quilt.

My MIL, who has made over 100 quilts, packed a clock for us to take home in an old quilt top. Her grandmother had made it for her when she was a child. It had been quilted at least twice. I brought it home and found that it is pretty much in shreds. It is living in a gift box until I can decide what to do with it. I can't throw it out and I don't know if it can be fixed. So sad.

Pam - sounds like your MIL couldn't quite quit using that quilt!

I guess it wasn't antique enough for her taste - and won't get a chance to be, either.

Sorry that happened, but, as the saying goes, once we give something away it isn't ours anymore. Add this to that saying - and, for better or worse, it is completely out of our control!

Some quilts are made for camping or the beach, so that doesn't bother me. At least PEOPLE are using them and making memories with them. That's what is really important about making quilts to me.

I 100% agree with you...I want my quilts to be loved to absolute tatters, and then some.

I made a queen size quilt for my 14 year old nephew - a lot of work, but well worth it. Unfortunately, he has an inherited neuropathy and is rapidly losing sensation in his feet. As a result, he is in and out of the hospital with nasty infections and surgeries to clean out the infection and remove infected bone. He takes it to the hospital when he has to go. It surprised me that the hospital would allow that these days since so many bacteria are antibiotic resistant, but they do. it also surprised me that he would take it!

I made my niece and her new husband a wall hanging in the colors she chose for her living room furniture. It was one of my first quilts and a few of the points were pointless. I spent a lot of time and money on it and was happy to give it to her. She thanked me and folded the quilt to be hung later. I found out she threw it away as she didn't want things on her walls. I was quite hurt. But I have since learned that her taste is not my taste and the quilt was now hers and she had every right to do with it what she wanted. I've since made quilts for other family members who use them and love them as intended. I'm just more careful in studying them and their tastes to get the quilt 'right'.