Bei Jia Bei “100 Good Wishes Quilt”
We’re starting a very special project to keep us busy and help us prepare for the arrival of our daughter and we’d love your help and participation. We are hoping to piece together a Bei Jia Bei, otherwise known as a “100 Good Wishes Quilt” I’ve put together some background information and instructions if you’d like to participate, along with a slideshow of the wishes we’ve received so far. Eventually we’ll include pictures of the progress we are making on the quilt.
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 100 people to contribute a single square patch of cloth. These 100 patches are sewn together into a quilt that contains luck, hope, and good thoughts from all the families and friends who contribute a piece of fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation.
How can I contribute to your quilt?
What you will need to do is send us two things: a piece of cloth and a written wish. Most of the cloth will go towards making the quilt and small piece will go into a scrapbook with the wish for the baby. How do I choose the fabric? The sky is the limit when it comes to the fabric choice. You can choose a fabric that is from the area where you live, that is a color that you like, or one that you think represents a sweet baby girl. Some ideas are chinese patterns, animals, colorful designs like retro dots and modern stripes, interesting flowers, toiles, etc. Please limit print size of fabric to small to medium. (It is hard to cut very large patterns to fit the finished squares.) Some examples of prints we like:
Specific fabric details.
One 9×9 in. square of 100% cotton, washable fabric that could work for a girl. It can be new or a “used and meaningful” fabric. If you go to any quilting shop or a fabric store that sells quilting fabrics, they will often have small pre-cut pieces available called a “fat quarter” (18 inches by 22 inches). All you will need to do is ask for a fat quarter, or ask to have one cut from your chosen fabric. There are also many shops online that sell quilting fabric if you would like to browse them for ideas.
Specific Wish details.
This is the fun part. Send us a card as small as 4″x6″ or as large as 8″x10″ with a good wish for our child and a scrap of your fabric (glued to the paper). Your wish can be simple or elaborate, handwritten or typed. It can be something you wrote or a favorite poem, lyric, quote, or anything else that strikes your fancy. I’d like for you to be as simple or as creative as you’d like! You can even include a picture of yourself or your family. Please remember to sign your wish and include your city and state. These written wishes will be placed in a 12×12 album so that your wishes will always be remembered.
Where do I send my fabric?
If you would like to participate in our quilt and would like to mail your fabric, contact me and I will send you our mailing address. If you are in town and would like to give us your fabric, you may contact me by phone or email and set up a time to meet.
Here are the lovely wishes we’ve received so far!
You can view a larger version of this slideshow online here: http://picasaweb.google.com/eileenmary/BeiJiaBei100GoodWishesQuilt/photo?authkey=2lgqxOfXhKA#s5132896277686334802
If you have any questions, please contact me: eileenmary@gmail.com
