As a member of a craft group, some crocheters and knitters created prayer shawls. Some of the poets on the forum wrote poems to accompany the gift shawls. I always thought this was such a nice idea. I thought you might want to look at the poems. Perhaps you could adapt one of them to attach to your gift quilt (changing a word here and there as needed). There are several to choose from - just keep scrolling down the thread where they have been archived. The poets there do request that their names stay attached to the poems. Good luck to your friend.
CraftSayings.com ? View topic - Idea/Instructions/Poems: Prayer Shawl