I make quilts for all of the reasons listed. I make some for the fun of it, others to give away, some for babies, some for entries in shows.
For those of you who say your quilts aren't good enough for shows - let me tell you about a friend of mine who said the same thing last year. We were going to the Sewing Expo in Oshkosh Wisconsin and they give away 2 sewing machines every year and to win one, you have to enter something in the quilt show. Well, she did enter a quilt and she won 1st place!!! She was shocked. This was judged by 3 judges mind you. She was very happy. No, she didn't win a sewing machine, I did, but she was floating on cloud 9 for a very long time.
It really is fun to enter quilts in small shows. Don't be put off if they are judged. The interesting thing about judged shows - is you get a sheet back telling you at least 3 stong points of your work and then a few things you need to work on. It helps you know where to focus your time and effort on. It is a great learning tool.
Not only that, but in some shows you can win either nice money, to support our habit, or a basket full of quilting goodies.