good_wishes

What is a 100 Good Wishes Quilt?

To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei, or 100 Good Wishes Quilt. It is a custom to invite friends and family to contribute a patch of cloth with a wish for the baby, and a piece of the cloth can go into a creative memory notebook with the wish for the child. The quilt contains the luck, energy, 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.

I have always wanted to learn to quilt and just love the tradition behind this project. Therefore, I am working on a Bai Jia Bei for our new baby. I have begun collecting fabric squares from other adoptive moms from all over the U.S., Canada, Australia & China. Here are just some of the beautiful fabrics that I have received.

This project will be especially meaningful for us and our new daughter if we are able to include fabrics and wishes from our family and friends. If you would like to help me in my project, here is all you need to do...

1. Choose ANY 100% cotton fabric that you like. It can be from clothing or from a fabric store. It just needs to be a design and color that you like.
2. Cut two 7 by 7" squares from the fabric OR one 7 by 14" piece of fabric.
3. Include your "good wish note". We will place all your wishes in a scrapbook that we will give to the baby someday.
4. Email me if you need our street address.

Ideas for selecting fabric squares:
* Select a fabric that is meaningful to you
* 100% cotton fabric is best, as it washes and wears better.
* If ther are several members in your family, please feel free to send more than 1 set of scraps. It would be so special to include good wishes from all members of your family!! In China, these quilts were originally made from garments of family and friends, which would surround the child with lunck/good wishes.

Ideas for good wishes note:
Well... what would you wish for a new child to have in his/her life? Some ideas that come to mind are good health, perseverance, compassion, and a sense of humor. Use that as a guide for your good wish note. Keep in mind that she will not see your note until until she is older, of course.

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