100 Good Wishes Quilt

Some of you will read about this in your Christmas card this year, so I'm cross-posting the info here for reference.

In northern China, there is a tradition of making a Bai Jia Bei, or 100 Good Wishes Quilt to welcome and celebrate a new life. These quilts are very popular in the Chinese adoption community, and it is customary to invite friends and family to contribute a patch of cloth as a wish for the baby. The quilt is supposed to bring luck and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed a piece of fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation.

Since I need a project to keep me from going crazy in these last few months before traveling to China for our adoption, I have decided to make a quilt. I hope you can help me! Here’s what I’m hoping you can do:

• Send me a 6 inch by 6 inch square of fabric to be one of the 100 blocks in the quilt. Only two guidelines:

1. The fabric should be 100% cotton, and preferably not knit cotton or anything stretchy.
2. The fabric should be reflective of you, or something that the baby might like. Some examples…if you like gardening, maybe a print with flowers. If you are one of my Florida friends, maybe something more tropical or something Disney-related. Fabric with panda bears or ladybugs (considered lucky in China) are also popular for these quilts. Not too hard, right? Any color and pattern will do, as long as it’s something you like! Be creative!

• I’m also enclosing a notecard for you to sign to be included in a scrapbook about the quilt. If you feel up to it, you’re welcome to add a message on the card. Just be sure to sign the card and return it with your fabric. If you are not the only person in your household, you can sign for your whole family or have each person (including the kids!) sign the card.
• It would be great if you could send me the fabric by January 31st. I’d like to piece together the quilt top before I travel.
• If you have kids in your house, please invite them participate as well. I’m happy to receive multiple squares from your family, and the kids might like picking out their own fabric and signing the notecard.

Here is a link to some pictures of 100 wishes quilts: http://members.cox.net/~joannanorman/quilt/photos.html, and you can find look at one woman’s fabric squares at http://www.3ds100wishesquilt.blogspot.com/. Please feel free to email or call if you have any questions! I promise to post pictures of the quilt when it's ready!