A couple of years ago a dear friend commented a couple of times that she would like a quilt, too, when I was showing her pictures of my latest. I knew that she liked contemporary design and had an idea of colors she would like, but I was still hesitant to make all the choices of color, pattern, etc. and put all the work into it unless I was pretty sure she would like it. Finally I gave her a card on her birthday with the promise that I would make her a quilt. I told her that I wanted to take her out to look at fabrics and patterns, take her out to lunch, and make a fun day of it. I knew she would like helping plan it and that way I could be sure that I wasn't putting tons of work into something she wouldn't like.
When the day came that we planned to get together she had a conflict, car trouble or something, and so we rescheduled. The 2nd time that we planned to get together she forgot that we had made those plans and we weren't able to get together again. Now, she was a dear friend and I knew that her memory sometimes failed her, but I was not sure what to do next. Naturally I was a little hurt and really didn't know whether the memory was the problem or that she just didn't want a quilt after all. I decided to just let it go.
Some time later when I mentioned what I was working on she mumbled "I'm never going to get that quilt." I was very surprised when she said that and figured I would give it another try. Unfortunately she became very ill not very long after that and passed away a month ago. I think of her often and feel the pain of losing a dear friend as well as the sadness of never having made her quilt.
I know we consider carefully when we make a quilt for someone and try to match their tastes, but it is just like any gift we give. We do our best to make it something they will like and hope it is right. Then we move forward and see what happens. I have seen someone's eyes light up when she opened the baby quilt that I made and also felt a little unhappy when another young woman thanked me for the "blanket." My daughter is thrilled with the quilt I made her and tells me all the time how much she likes it. We just keep doing our best, enjoying the making part of it, giving it with love, and trying to share our work with people who will be touched and appreciative. Beyond that, we have no control over the recipient's reaction.