I'm sorry to hear about your friend. Actually, I have heard of this before. It is a nice reflection of her life.
Mom asked me to quilt a Block to put over my dad's ashes container. I found a traditional pattern with his name in the title and made it red,white, & blue, since he was a proud Marine from WWII who was active in the Marine League for those retired from service. She loved it and so did the 10 retired Marines who knew him well.
About a decade ago, my sister and I were discussing this more and more popular trend of displaying representations of the deceased persons interests at the service, whether it be an art form like quilting or a musician's instrument or even their music played. I hadn't learned to quilt yet so I asked my sister what could they show about me? As I've always been crazy about dogs, she said maybe my little terrier would have to be displayed! I think the family is relieved that when the time comes, my quilts will do very nicely ...and quietly.