Bai Jia Bei

100 Good Wishes Quilt (Bai Jia Bei)

This is a little late coming. I had thought about it earlier in the adoption process and nothing had come of it. But a friend of ours is adopting a little boy with port-wine stain from Guangdong, and is making a Bai Jia Bei, 100 Good Wishes Quilt, for him. And this has renewed my urge to have one for Reese KaiJin. She may not sleep with it (as she is nearly physically attached to her fuzzy blankets) but it would make a nice thing to put in her cedar chest that she may get when she's older, for her to save for when she has children, etc. It's a really cool idea. I'd love to have help with this. It'd mean a lot to me, and to Reese KaiJin.

What Is It:
Parents in northern China make a Bai Jia Bei, or 100 Good Wishes Quilt, to welcome and celebrate a new life. Friends and family contribute a square of cloth and a wish for the baby. The pieces of cloth are made into a quilt, and the good wishes go into a memory book. The quilt is said to contain the luck, energy, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed.

What to Send:
* One 8"x8" square of washable fabric. It can be new or "used and meaningful" fabric. The kind of fabric you send is part of what makes the quilt so special. 100% cotton is preferred as it washes and sews easier.

* A card (such as an index card) or a sheet of paper with a good wish for Reese and a scrap of your fabric (glued to the paper). Your wish can be anything you want it to be. It can be something you wrote or a favorite poem, quote, or anything else that you would like. It can be as complicated, simple, decorated, or plain as you want. Please remember to sign your wish and put your location (it'd just be fun to look back and see where they've come from).

I plan to scrapbook the wishes in her "baby book" scrapbook. I'd like to collect at least 100 squares but more are welcomed and appreciated.

Will you help Reese KaiJin see quite how much she was waited for and all the good will everyone wants for her when she gets older? Will you send her a wish?

If you would like to contribute to the quilt, please email me at xiii.the.black.cat.xiii@gmail.com and I will send you my information.

Thanks so much for everyone's help.

If you are collecting for a quilt, let me know and I'll do my very very best to get a square and a wish to you.

Thanks again!