My Son got married a few years ago and I made them a queen sized quilt as a gift. Last year I asked them if I could put it in our local quilt show. This was a quilt that I had designed myself, hand appliqued and partially hand quilted. When they brought it to me, it was quite dirty, and had a 1/2 inch layer of cat hair on it. I was so dissappointed and not sure what to do. I didn't know if they didn't like it so they let the cat use it, or what. I finally decided to talk to my son about it. He said they love the quilt, and knew that their playful cat was laying on it, playing on it etc... while it was on their bed, they were afraid that if they put it away, my feelings would be hurt that they weren't using it. He decided that they would put it away for awhile until the cat got a little older and settled down. I have always had a great relationship and great communication with my son, so I felt sure talking to him would be the right way to go. Somewhere in the conversation I did mention that the quilt was probably worth more than he would think and get more valuable over the years if it is taken care of. I also at that time gave them "permission" to love it to death if that is what they wanted to do. If someone gave me something that had a value that I was ignorant of, I would appreciate knowing it.