100 Good-Wishes Quilt

To welcome and celebrate a new life, it is a tradition in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei or 100 Good-Wishes quilt. The custom is to invite family and friends to contribute a square of fabric and a wish for the baby. Most of the square is sewn into the quilt, while a smaller piece goes 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 square of fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation.

Here is what you would need to send if you choose to participate:

(1) One 12x12�square of pre-washed 100% cotton fabric. This type of fabric is best, as it washes and wears better. Select a fabric that is meaningful to you. If there are several members in your family, please feel free to send more than one good wish note and pieces of fabric. In China, these quilts were originally made from the garments of family and friends surrounding the child with luck and good wishes.

(2) A 3x5(or larger) card with a wish dedicated to Dallas. Please include a separate scrap of your fabric glued to the card. What would you wish for a child to have in her life? Some ideas are good health, perseverance, compassion, love, and a sense of humor. Use that as a guide for your good wish note. It can be something original you wrote, a favorite poem, lyric, or quote that has special meaning to you, or your favorite Bible verse. Please remember to sign your wish and include your city and state. Your wish-card can be elegantly simple or colorfully decorated with stickers and photographs, or whatever else that tickles your fancy. Anything goes. This card will go into a scrapbook for her to always be able to see all those who waited and prayed for her to come home.

Skip and I hope you will be able to participate in this gift for Dallas. We just want for her to know how loved and cherished she is, not only by us but by so many others. I haven’t decided on how I want the quilt to look yet and what main colors I want to add to it. So I will wait for all the squares to come in and then decide once I see all the beautiful squares you have sent. If you do decide to participate, please email me at lingbabygirl-blog@yahoo.com.