[ATTACH=CONFIG]480625[/ATTACH]Thank you so very much for all the wonderful suggestions and advice, especially those of you who have made this journey:
I'm taking a pass on the pink ribbon fabric, so here is the fabric I've chosen with the help of a nice lady at the LQS. I wanted bright and cheery, but not juvenile. The green at top will be the border, the mauve a smaller inner border, and I'm going to do simple 4" blocks in a pattern so that the blocks follow the color flow above, then offset by one block on the next and each subsequent row (if you catch my drift). It will end up at about 56"X66". I will make a pillow case with the scraps and some plain fabric so she can haul it with her.
From ok what you're telling me, minky would be nice on the back and maybe silk batting for the sake of weight. Is that right? If so, how is minky to work with? I've never used it before and I don't want to mess this up. Will silk batting wash well? I can imagine that this will be washed frequently.
I will choose an encouraging expression and machine embroider it on the back. Is there anything I'm forgetting? Hopefully, I can get this done by early next week.