If ever there was any question regarding my tendency to go a little overboard, the OHGWQ (one hundred good wishes quilt) fabric swaps should put all doubt to rest!
There is a tradition in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei, or "100 Good Wishes Quilt" to welcome and celebrate a new life. It is the custom to invite 100 people to contribute a single square patch of cloth. The 100 patches are sewn together into a quilt that contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from all the families and friends who contributed a piece of fabric. We thought that this was a charming tradition and wanted to make a quilt for Nora to welcome her into our family as well as provide a connection to her Chinese heritage.
We received many beautiful squares and wishes from our family and friends, but I found a quilt pattern requiring 237 squares! So, I decided to participate in a few fabric swaps to fill the gap. Well, one thing led to another and now I have about 500 squares.
Luckily, many of these are destined for special projects such as a Chinese Zodiac book, an alphabet quilt and a state/province quilt. The others will go toward Nora's OHGWQ. I still need to take some photos of the squares - including the many precious clothing items - that we've received, but I do have a photo of the squares I've contributed to the various swaps. (pictured above)
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