Information About Our
100 Good Wishes Quilt
& Request for Quilt Squares

Dear Family and Friends,

While we are waiting for the referral of our baby, we are working on a project with which we need your assistance. We are creating 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 100 people to contribute a single square of material. The 100 pieces of material are then sewn together into a quilt that contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from all the family and friends who contributed a piece of fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation. We love the idea of welcoming our baby into our home with a quilt that represents the good wishes from our family and friends.

HERE IS WHAT WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO DO:

(1) Choose any 100% cotton fabric that you like.
(2) Cut two 12” x 12” squares of fabric. Before you cut the fabric to size, please wash, dry, and iron it. If you place it in a ziploc bag, it will ensure that the fabric does not get wet as it’s being mailed.
(3) On an acid free piece of paper or card include your “good wish note”. The wish design can be as simple or elaborate as you would like - let your creative juices flow. Please also include why you choose the fabric and your name & address. The first piece of fabric will be used to make a quilt and the 2nd swatch of fabric & Good Wishes will be incorporated into a special “Good Wishes” memory book.

IDEAS FOR SELECTING FABRIC SQUARES:

(1) Select a fabric that is meaningful to you.
(2) 100% cotton fabric is best as it washes and wears well.
(3) If there are several members in your family, please feel free to send more than one good wish note and piece of fabric. In China, these quilts were originally made from the garments of family and friends surrounding the child with luck and good wishes.

IDEAS FOR GOOD WISHES NOTES:

Well, think about what you would wish for a baby to have in their life? Some ideas are good health, perseverance, compassion, a sense of humor. Good wishes may include a poem, bible verse, favorite quote or saying, advice etc.

Please take a few minutes from your busy schedules to help us create this very special keepsake. The miracle of this adoption has been helped and nurtured by so many of you and this will be so incredibly meaningful for us as well as our new arrival. If you need our address, please email Emily.

Thank you!
Emily, Dave and Abbie

P.S. If you know anyone else who would like to contribute PLEASE pass this on! And if you want to help me quilt these special quilts please let me know that too!

If you would like to see some examples of squares sent to other adoptive parents, check out the links below.
http://ameliasohgwq.blogspot.com/
http://www.wishesforava.blogspot.com/
http://www.christopherquilt.blogspot.com/
http://www.quiltsquares.blogspot.com/