Hello and welcome to quilting!!!!
I have found that my family/friends appreciate ANYTHING I make for them. Homemade is synonomous with "lots of love".Now I am learning the right way to quilt and looking back my projects look primitive, but my people thought they were awesome quilts.
Sounds like a great idea (the memory quilt). I have a package of material for photos that a friend gave me. It is the size of a sheet of paper. You choose a photo or image and print it on the material with your computer and printer. I have never used it , but have seen some awesome photos others have printed.
Wishing you the best.
sister new to quilting with rules,
Chris