A Quilt of Squishes Project While We Wait...

While we wait, I have decided to embark on a project (described below).

I have been reading adoption magazines, and I came across an article that had ideas for projects to undertake while you wait for your referral/travel. One of the projects struck me as especially interesting.

In parts of Asia (China, to be precise), there is a tradition in which family members and friends of expectant parents give them scraps of cloth or old clothing as well as good wishes. The fabric can then be made into a quilt, which will surround the child with the energy of good luck and wishes. In addition, the wishes can be kept in a scrapbook for the child to see how many people cared about them even before meeting them! Even though our baby will be from Vietnam instead of from China, the idea of making such a lovely keepsake seems completely worth emulating (and it seems to be catching on in the adoption community for those waiting for babies from many different places)!

I would love to invite you to participate in my quilt project by sending a squish. We have had wonderful support from so many people during this process, and we thank you very much for all that support as well as for your participation in this project of creating a beautiful gift for the baby.

CREATING A SQUISH (A Square plus a Wish):

1. Choose any 100% cotton fabric that you like - any design or color (preferably quilting fabric weight - not fleece or flannel). You may use a piece of old fabric that is special to you, or a new fabric that inspires you feel inspires good feelings, good luck and good wishes.

2. Cut one 9" x 9” square from the fabric.

3. On a 3"x5" or 4"x6" card attach a small piece of the fabric (so we can to match which fabric goes with which wish) and write your wish on the card.
Your wish can be your own original writing or a favorite poem, quote, or anything else you like. Please sign your wish and include your city and state on the card.

To see sample squishes click here.

If you would like to share a squish, please email me at martineandnate@yahoo.com, and I will send you our address. I will track progress and post squishes on a special blog that I created for the quilt project www.quiltofsquishes.blogspot.com. It contains links to sample squishes that other people have collected if you need ideas. If you feel moved to send more than one squish, please feel free:)

Please do not stop checking this blog. I will continue to track the adoption progress and story here on this blog. I just wanted to be able to track the project separately. I am creating a Quilt Project link to the other blog to the right on this blog, so that you can easily check status of the project if you would like. You will note that the first post on the Quilt Project blog is very similar to this post:)