Lily's 100 Good Wishes Quilt

When we started this process, way back in 2006, one of the things that I learned about was the 100 good wishes quilt, or Bai Jai Bei. It is a tradition in China to make one, to celebrate a new life in the family. To create the quilt, one asks 100 people to contribute a single square patch of cloth. The 100 patches are sewn together into a quilt that contains the luck and good wishes from all those who participated. Through my yahoo groups of waiting moms, friends, and family, I began collecting quilt squares for my daughter. It was a fun exchange to participate in, and within a year, I had collected all 100 squares. Each square of fabric came with a special wish or prayer from the sender. I put all of the wishes in a beautiful album.

As the years went by, my quilt squares sat alone, but neatly folded on a top shelf in Lily's closet. With the wait stretching out infinitely in front of me, having a quilt made didn't seem that important anymore. It actually made me sad to think about it.....I often wondered if I would ever have a baby girl to make this special quilt for.

A few weeks ago, I was having dinner with a friend of the family. She is the daughter of Lily's God father, and she is here doing graduate work. Our conversation turned to Lily and I mentioned her quilt squares. Rosie mentioned that she loves to quilt, and that she would be honored to make Lily's 100 good wishes quilt.

She delivered it over the weekend and it is beautiful! I love it even more then I thought I would. The best thing is that Lily really LOVES it! She stomps on the squares, she points to things, she rolls around and giggles and laughs. Seeing her wrapped up in her Bai Jai Bei makes me happier then I can say.

My heart overflows with love for this child.

My soul rejoices.

It is still sinking in......

Lily is home.