Kate's Good Wishes Quilt

Amazingly Beautiful Quilt Squares!

2008-04-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

I continue to be incredibly touched by the kindess and love in all of the quilt squares we are receiving. I am also amazed at how well people know my taste! I cannot express how much I love each and every square that arrives! They are perfect!

Bridget and Lucy sent us this amazing monogrammed square! I was so surprised when I opened this square. I had thought of doing this for someone else but it was too early (a name was not chosen). I had not told anyone so the fact that someone did this for us really surprised me. I should not be too surprised though because Bridget and I seem to have similar taste. This beautiful fabric is also in Lucy's room. Lucy is from the same province as Kate and I think they really resemble one another. They also dress a lot alike:)

This beautiful square is from Emma who came home around the same time as Kate!

Wendy and her family sent these squares (and the one from Emma). I love these patterns and would have chosen them myself. I got to know Wendy during our wait though an on-line adoption group. She is so sweet and seems like an amazing Mom. Her husband and son traveled to China just a few weeks before Dave and Will (in fact their trips overlapped).

This pretty floral is from my darling friend, Daleea. She has already sent some but I think this is for the shabby chic exchange!

This is from my very good friend in Houston, Leslie (who I miss a lot!). It did not photograph well but it is a beautiful embroidered white cotton. I love it!

Our friends, the Niehaus family gave us this beautiful square. I love this fabric and I am touched that they contributed to Kate's quilt.

This gorgeous fabric is from Paige at Simple Thoughts. I found Paige's blog a long time ago and I felt an instant connection to her. She is an inspiring and beautiful woman. I encourage you to click over to see what she has to say. She is also very creative and a wonderful photographer too.

This soft yellow fabric is from our good friends ~Karen and Doug. They just received a referral for their beautiful daughter from Guangdong, China! This fabric is in their daughter's room!

This beautiful parasol fabric is from the sweet and beautiful Lisa. I have come to know Lisa through the blogs and she is such an encouraging and kind soul. Thank you Lisa!

These pretty pink fabrics are from Dawn. I have also "met" Dawn through the blogs and she is waiting for her beautiful daughter, Lucy to come home. Dawn seems so kind and generous.

This last package came from Jennifer at the 5 Bickies. Jennifer also sent these adorable dresses that her daughter has outgrown. I love them. Thank you for your kindness!

I think we have 61 squares so far but we still need more! I know a lot of our close friends and family (~ahem) are still working on them! We look forward to seeing what you have chosen for Kate's quilt.

More Gorgeous Squares

2008-03-26T18:54:00.000-07:00

Jennifer sent us this beautiful green toile. I adore it!!!!

Connie sent us this cozy and soft green minky! Kate loves it. It looks and feels like her lovey! Thank you Connie!!!

Lori sent us this adorable "shabby chic" square. She also sent three others that I LOVE! Lori has the most amazing taste and she packages everything so beautifully. I want to go be an intern in her creative home. I know I sound like I am gushing but this woman has incredible talents.

Another beautiful fabric and wish from Martha...I mean Lori.

And these two are from Lori too!

Creative cutie pie, Taryn sent us this adorable polka dot. Isn't it cute?

Our good friends from Houston, the Millers, sent us this beautiful paisley. I love that our friends are taking the time to do this for Kate. Thank you Marjo!

Lea sent these two ladybug prints. They are so cute and they are pink and green (my favorites)!

Heather and her wonderful family sent us these two squares. They are both beautiful and I know they were chosen with love. I am lucky enough to get to see Heather and her family in a few weeks at our adoption reunion.

I love this paisley fabric that Lauren and her family sent us. It looks so pretty with the other fabrics.

Michele and her family sent us these fabrics. They are perfect.

Thank you Eason family for this square from the shabby chic swap.

My Mom sent these two squares for Kate's quilt. I love them and I think they will look beautiful in her quilt. Thank you, Mom.

My friend, Pip chose this gorgeous pink toile for Kate's quilt. She knows I LOVE toile and this one is beautiful.

Thank you Cindy and Dean for this soft chenille square for Kate's quilt. This was from the shabby chic exchange too.

My very special friend, Elissa and her family gave us this beautiful sqaure. I love this pattern.

This pretty floral came from Debbie in my shabby chic exchange. Thank you!

More Beautiful Squares

2008-03-16T10:23:00.000-07:00

Again, the highlight of my week was going to my mailbox to see the gorgeous wishes and fabrics that arrived each day. I have been overwhlemed at the beauty of each fabric, the kindess in each wish and love behind it all!

Here they are...

These two fabrics are from my very dear friend, Diana and her family. I met Diana during our wait and she has become an incredibly special friend. I knew I would LOVE whatever she chose. She has incredible taste!

My friend, Denise and her family sent us these adorable fabrics. I love these patterns. Denise will be traveling to get her daughter on March 27th. She has become a dear friend of mine and I look forward to many special times with our daughters (and our sons)!

Sweet and funny Jennifer and her family sent us this perfect fabric. They are waiting for their daughter from China. I love that it is pink and has ladybugs on it. Thank you Jennifer!

Tracy and her family sent us this. We have been following each other's blogs for a long time now. I love Tracy's "tell it like it is" style of writing. Tracy's blog makes me laugh. She is a sweetie and I am hoping to see her daughter's face this year! I love this paisley. It looks complements some of the other fabrics really well.

I LOVE this fabric too! Lisa is a pregnant Mom on bed rest who has been reading our blog for a while. She is expecting her fouth child. As far as I know she does not have a blog and she has not adopted. I was so incredibly touched that she sent us a square! The wish is truly beautiful. Lisa also sent us a beautfiul book (The Empty Pot) and an ornament with Kate's name engraved on it. Lisa, if you are reading this...I cannot express how much your kindess has moved me this week. Thank you!!!!

Sharon, who is waiting to go to China to get her beautiful daughter sent this cute fabric. It is silky soft. I met Sharon through the blog too. She has a beautiful way of expressing her love for her children. Thank you Sharon. We treasure it!

My dearest, sick, little Harry chose this fabric for Kate's quilt. It is pink chenille. When Kate saw the chenille in the fabric store, she ran up to it and hugged it screaming, "Wubby, Wubby (which means lovey, lovey). Apparently, chenille reminds her of the "lovey" that she sleeps with. Harry did a beautiful job on the wish.

Our friends, the Freedmans sent us this beautiful square. I love the pattern. It reminds me of the damask on Kate's walls. Pam, thank you so much and we love the wish. We hope to see you next time you are in town!

Kelly and Tim who are awaiting their daughter sent us this fun square. They are Irish and sent us pretty green shamrocks and an Irish blessing. Thank you. We will treasure this square and the blessing.

Leslie and her beautiful family sent us this square. A few weeks ago, I went and bought several fabrics for Kate's quilt in case people wanted to participate but didn't have time to go get fabric. I also chose some that our family would give to Kate. I actually bought this exact fabric because I thought it was one of the prettiest fabrics I have ever seen. I LOVE it so much. So, imagine my surprise when I open the envelope from my dear and sweet friend and I see this one! Leslie, our tastes are so similar. Thank you for the beautiful wish.

I love this bright and sunny fabric from Elizabeth in my Shabby Chic quilt swap. It looks gorgeous next to the pink paisley above. Thank you!

Nazareth sent this one all the way from Spain for the Shabby Chic swap. Isn't it perfect?

The Reimer family sent this fun and bright fabric for the Shabby Chic swap. Merci!

The Sprague Family sent this beautiful floral for the Shabby Chic swap. Gracias!

Our good friends, the Bickers, gave us this beautiful square and wish. We love this fabric and I adore what Colleen wrote. We are lucky to call you friends. Thank you.

Staci sent us new wish cards this week. She did not know that they would go into an album and felt bad about the green index cards she sent last week. Staci, you are so funny! I love the new wishes!!!!

I truly LOVE each of these fabrics! I hope my writing is indicative of that. I don't want to say the same thing over and over but each one is perfect and the love behind them is so sweet. Also, a few people expressed concern over sending me duplicate fabrics. I really hope to get duplicates! I think it will give the quilt a more cohesive look if some squares are repeated. So, please not not worry about that!

Our first Quilt Squares

2008-03-09T08:58:00.000-07:00

Here are the quilt squares that have come in....

These beautiful squares are from my dear friend, Daleea, of Jewels of my Heart. Thank you!

This adorable "shabby chic" square is from Lizziefitz (password protected blog). I love this!

The family from Follow the Leaders sent this one to Kate. It is absolutely perfect.

Dale who is an occasional commenter and is adopting from China sent this gorgeous fabric and wish. The scene is a beautiful, Asian toile. Thank you, Dale!

This square and wish is from Denise at Tucked inside my Heart. She e-mailed me worried that the wish card wasn't "right" which is ironic because it is the most beautiful card I have ever seen! It made me feel a little embarassed of the wishes I have sent to people. Thank you Denise! I love the fabric and the wish.

This adorable green fabric is from Staci, who is Kate's Godmother (and her husband Long, the Godfather too). I love it. It has the cutest little Beatrix Potter type creatures on it.

This pretty one is from Staci's Mom and Dad (the great fairy Godparents). I have come to know them over the years and the are incredibly loving people. Thank you!

This fun pink gingham is from Staci's four children!

I have bought some fabrics for Kate's quilt too. There will be squares from me, Dave, Will, Harry and Scout! This is one that I LOVE! It is called "storybook toile" and it was very difficult to photograph (the camera would not focus). It is a cream background with pink silhouettes. The scenes are so charming. There is a little dog in one of the scenes and it is a shnauzer and looks a lot like Scout (she is actually a schnoodle). I have not cut this fabric into squares yet because I love each and every scene and am afraid of losing some. Isn't it cute?

Thank you so much to everyone who has sent squares so far. Going to the mailbox this week and finding these loving Squishes has been the best part of my week!

I love each and every square and wish.

I look forward to more deliveries this week.

Beginning a Quilt

2007-11-14T11:32:00.000-08:00

Many people who adopt from China make their children a quilt called the 100 good wishes quilt. Although I had heard about this tradition, I did not gather quilt squares during our wait for Kate. I don't know how to sew and I worried about how I could pull one together. I also worried that I would have a quilt and not have Kate. We had an international adoption that fell through because the country changed policy. I was afraid that I might "jinx" things by making a quilt. Now that Kate Emerson is home, I would love for her to have the 100 wishes quilt.

This is how it works... 100 family members and friends (more or less) send a 9X9 quilt square and a one sided card, note or letter that has a fabric swatch (approximately 2X2) attached. In the letter or note, the friends and family write their good wishes for our daughter. We will use the fabric squares to assemble her quilt. I will put the notes with the scrap of fabric in a memory book so Kate will know who sent each square and what their wish was for her. Please e-mail me through my profile if you would like to send us a "squish" (square and wish).

People have asked about color schemes and I was very hesitant to specify anything. However, I have begun to look at fabrics for her big girl bed and I would love to use the quilt on it. So I would like muted colors of pink, green, white and cream. Below are photos of her room so you can see what will blend in. I am asking for a 9 X 9 100% cotton washed square of fabric.

I will post photos of all the squares and wishes that we receive on this blog. Thank you for helping me create this special item for Kate Emerson. Also, I have fabric squares to send to anyone who is making a quilt and would like to exchange squares and wishes. Please let me know if you are collecting too!