The Butterfly Quilt

Bai Jia Bei - The Tradition

To welcome and celebrate a new life, it is a tradition in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei: a 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.

What to Send

We want you, our family and friends, to be a part of this wonderful tradition. Please contribute to our Butterfly's Bai Jia Bei.

Please send:

(1) One 9" x 9" square (or larger) of washable 100% cotton fabric that could work for a little girl. It can be new or "used and meaningful" fabric. Please pre-wash the fabric to prevent any shrinking when it becomes part of the Bai Jia Bei.

(2) On a card that is 4" x 6" up to 8" x 11" in size, write your wish dedicated to our child. Please include a scrap of your fabric glued to the card. Your wish can be simple or elaborate, handwritten or typed. It can be something original you wrote, or a favorite poem, lyric, or quote that has special meaning to you. 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.

Please note that the finished size of the squares in the quilt will be about 5" x 5", so if you are adding anything to your square, please keep that in mind.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Quilt Squares... Finally!!!

I finally have some quilt squares for our Butterfly's quilt to share. Thank you to the Holt families who participated in the quilt swap. Below are the squares and the wishes that came with them. For those looking for some ideas, these squares and wishes are a great place to start.