You've got a ton of great suggestions already, but I'm going to throw one in as well.
Take a look at moda's mixologie line. There are some really nice soft aquas and yellows combined with grey. Here is a hunter's star block I made using these. The background fabric is from robert kaufman architextures line. Hope this helps. I'm sorry your friend is struggling, I can't imagine how hard that must be! Hugs.
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