Monday, January 08, 2007

The 100 Wishes Quilt

We were a little nervous about what the reaction would be from our family and friends when we announced that we were going to adopt a daughter from China. We sent out invitations for our friends and loved ones to participate in the making of a 100 Wishes Quilt for Sophia Jane. Then we sat back and waited to see what type of response we would get. And we were completely overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support that we have received.
This is still a work in progress. Not everyone's pieces are in and some of the pages are not complete yet, but please take a look at what we have. We would love to share these pages with you.

This is from my dear friend who we call Grammy Char. Frogs of course....

From Zachary's Godfather Walter Collins and his family. Girl Power!!

From our wonderful neighbors the Padgett Family.

From our friends the Maschke Family

Look closely at this one from our friends the Tate Family. They are dressed as the actual characters from the Wizard of Oz.

This piece comes from my dearest friend Chris. She was one of my Mothers closest friends and her son David was like a brother to me. My Mother and David both have passed on. Chris sent me a pillowcase that my Mother made for David when he was a small boy. It will have a place of honor on Sophia's quilt.

These pieces come from Sophia's Aunt Sonya and her cousins Jeremy, Chris, Ben and Suzi.


A special piece from my husbands best friend's Mother Sharron.


Fun fabrics from cousin Jennifer and Tim and their boys Connor and Donovan. We love cars and dinosaurs!!

We love Aunt Trisha and Uncle Scott. Jesse and Brandon picked some great fabrics!


This is one of the most amazing pieces we have received. This is all embroidered onto the piece of cloth. Thank you Aunt Joann and Uncle Tom. This is just beautiful.



Cassie and her brother Billy sent these pieces. I'm still working on getting them put in the book just right.

These fabrics are in memory of Great-Grandma Bartlett who passed away from breast cancer and Great-Grandpa Bartlett who loved the outdoors and his John Deere Tractor.


This fabric is from a very special Aunt who has always supported and loved our family. Thank you for sharing your own adoption story Aunt Carol, we love you and Uncle Bob!



These fabrics were sent from Great Grandma and Grandpa Girvin. These are pieces of material from old aprons that she made.

This page was very difficult for me to make. The fabric is taken from a pair of my Mothers pajamas that were found on her bed the day after she passed away. The picture is one of my favorites of her and I together when I was a little girl.


These pieces come from Grandma Kathy and Papa Bill. Grandma Kathy will be making the quilt for Sophia. She said that it would be an honor to do this for her Grandaughter. Thank you!!



These pieces were chosen by Big Sister Katelyn.

These are from Big Brother Zach.



And last but certainly not least, Big Brother Tyler.





6 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Hi there. I like your swatches and all the good wishes. Though I have a confession. What is the 100 wishes quilt about? And do you make an actual quilt from it or a scrapbook? I know the IA China people make them, but I don't know why. Also how do you get photos placed within your posting? Whenever I try to, they all pile up on the top.
Elizabeth

redmaryjanes said...

Hi Elizabeth,
When I first started my paperchase, I hit the internet and saw the 100 Wish Quilts on everyone's sites. We have a friend who is from China so I sent her an e-mail to see if this was a real traditional Chinese custom. She called her mother who still lives in China and her mother told her that it is an old custom from the rural areas of China.
So, I decided to do it.
I sent out invitations to our closest family and friends that explained the project and asked them to participate.
I am having people send a 12"x12" piece of cloth, a matching 2"x2" piece of the same cloth and a wish written on paper. I bought a smaller scrapbook that could easily be handled by a child.
I am putting the 2"x2" pieces in the scrapbook along with the wish and a picture of the sender if I have one. I am giving the larger pieces to my mother-in-law to make the quilt with. So..when the quilt is done, my daughter will be able to look through her scrapbook and identify which pieces of her quilt came from which people and see their picture and know what their wish was for her.
Truly, it has been unbelievable. I am so glad that I did it. The treasures that are coming in are priceless.


Ok, I'll tell you how I get the pictures on if you tell me how to link someone's site to mine. Deal??
When I import my pictures they pile up on the top too. But if you click on the photo and drag right until you are outside of it, then drag down, it will move down through the line of pictures and through your text until you get it where you want. It's cumbersome. You'll have to drag each photo several times to get it where you want. Also, while you are trying to adjust your text for the spacing you want-if you backspace up too close to the picture it will instantly delete and you will have to upload it again.
Have a great day lady!!

Elizabeth said...

Thanks so much for telling me about the pictures!
Adding links:
from the 'dashboard' click on 'layout' this brings you to the 'template' tab. On the right side is a box called 'links' click on edit. Then cut/paste the web address from the site you want and place it in the line that says "site URL". beneath that type the name of the site. then click on 'add link' and then save. After you have added all the ones you want you can move them around to be in the order you like, as beside them is a +/- side which raises them up or down. I hope I didn't write it out too confusing, it's easier than it sounds. Good luck.
Ms. Dragonfly

Sarah's proud Mama said...

Hey, I stumbled upon your blog and was wondering if you would like to exchange quilt squares and wishes with me? I'm making a quilt for our daughter even though we already have her. We didn't know about the 100 GWQ when we adopted her. Go to my blog and there is a "contact us" link, you can email me and let me know. Thanks a bunch, Robin
http://sarahs-adventures.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

I admire everything your family has done for the 100 Wish Quilts. The swatches of fabric are just beautiful! I can tell you guys are a close family because the children are involved as well. Good luck to you all!

Carolyn said...

RMJ-
We didn't swap squishes for the quilts- but DX's is ALMOST DONE!! But I am going to make a scrappy cover for his OHGW scrapbook, and I'd love to include your material in that. So if you'd still like to swap, then I'd be up for it! Just send me your address. Here's a new e-mail: barryunderscorewalsh @ nf. sympatico. ca (use a real underscore instead of the words, and remove spaces).