Bai Jia Bei (100 Good Wishes Quilt)
I wanted to post this here- so that all of you can do me a huge favor, help me make a Bai Jia Bei, or 100 Good Wishes Quilt for my baby! Everyone please send me a peice of fabric for her! Please Read On:
As all of you know- Jamie and I are in the process of adopting a child from China (prayers are welcome). I am starting a project for our child- hopefully we will have our paperwork done soon so the waiting can begin. And with the waiting comes time…so I would like to make a 100 Good Wishes Quilt for our daughter. And for this I need some help from you!
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. Part of the patch of cloth goes into the quilt for the baby, and the other part of the cloth can go into a creative memory notebook with the wish for the child. The quilt contains the prayers, luck, energy, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed a piece of fabric. Select a fabric that is meaningful to you, it doesn’t have to be new- a project you started but didn’t finish, a piece of skirt, something you thought was pretty at Walmart or if you are a parent it can be from a child’s clothing. (In China, these quilts were originally made from garments of family and friends, which would surround the child with luck/good wishes.)
The purpose of the 100 Good wishes quilt is to create a quilt with each of the quilting squares associated with a specific person/wish. This type of quilt is common in China and has become popular in the Chinese adoption community. The person sending the piece of fabric also sends a wish on a piece of paper for a scrapbook for the person who will eventually receive the quilt. The wish can be for good health, something religious or some other positive life outcome. The piece of fabric should be 100% cotton and prewashed (I can wash it- no biggy). The square should be a 12x12 inch piece of fabric (or there around) then we can cut it to the correct size (no I don’t know what that is yet). It is ideal if you place a small piece of the fabric on the paper containing the wish so that we can associate the wish with the fabric and the person who sent the fabric.
The Wish: Your wish and the way it is presented can be as simple or as elaborate as you want it to be. The wish might be a prayer, favorite poem, a heart felt random thought, a Bible verse or a quote. You can write it on an index card, white paper, stationary, lined paper, acid free paper- whatever you like. You can hand write or use a computer, make it scrap-booky or stamped - whatever you like- this is your wish/prayer for our daughter, we want it to reflect your personality- mine is a no frills piece of stationary with a wish written on it. I can put a piece of the fabric with the wish- don’t worry about attaching it.
Some of the wishes I have read include- I wish you more good hair days than bad hair days, I wish for you to find the love of God, I wish for you happiness …… Let your personality shine!
I know this quilt will be cherished by our daughter- whenever we get her.
Love,
Mary Whidden (and Jamie Phillips)
Our address is:
Mary Whidden & Jamie Phillips
11370 Evans Trail #202
Beltsville, MD 20705
As all of you know- Jamie and I are in the process of adopting a child from China (prayers are welcome). I am starting a project for our child- hopefully we will have our paperwork done soon so the waiting can begin. And with the waiting comes time…so I would like to make a 100 Good Wishes Quilt for our daughter. And for this I need some help from you!
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. Part of the patch of cloth goes into the quilt for the baby, and the other part of the cloth can go into a creative memory notebook with the wish for the child. The quilt contains the prayers, luck, energy, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed a piece of fabric. Select a fabric that is meaningful to you, it doesn’t have to be new- a project you started but didn’t finish, a piece of skirt, something you thought was pretty at Walmart or if you are a parent it can be from a child’s clothing. (In China, these quilts were originally made from garments of family and friends, which would surround the child with luck/good wishes.)
The purpose of the 100 Good wishes quilt is to create a quilt with each of the quilting squares associated with a specific person/wish. This type of quilt is common in China and has become popular in the Chinese adoption community. The person sending the piece of fabric also sends a wish on a piece of paper for a scrapbook for the person who will eventually receive the quilt. The wish can be for good health, something religious or some other positive life outcome. The piece of fabric should be 100% cotton and prewashed (I can wash it- no biggy). The square should be a 12x12 inch piece of fabric (or there around) then we can cut it to the correct size (no I don’t know what that is yet). It is ideal if you place a small piece of the fabric on the paper containing the wish so that we can associate the wish with the fabric and the person who sent the fabric.
The Wish: Your wish and the way it is presented can be as simple or as elaborate as you want it to be. The wish might be a prayer, favorite poem, a heart felt random thought, a Bible verse or a quote. You can write it on an index card, white paper, stationary, lined paper, acid free paper- whatever you like. You can hand write or use a computer, make it scrap-booky or stamped - whatever you like- this is your wish/prayer for our daughter, we want it to reflect your personality- mine is a no frills piece of stationary with a wish written on it. I can put a piece of the fabric with the wish- don’t worry about attaching it.
Some of the wishes I have read include- I wish you more good hair days than bad hair days, I wish for you to find the love of God, I wish for you happiness …… Let your personality shine!
I know this quilt will be cherished by our daughter- whenever we get her.
Love,
Mary Whidden (and Jamie Phillips)
Our address is:
Mary Whidden & Jamie Phillips
11370 Evans Trail #202
Beltsville, MD 20705
posted by Whidden-Phillips | 2:15 PM
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