Zen…you have to admit it’s a cool word. You’ve seen it on t-shirts, on little books at the local java hut. Zen cooking, Zen yoga, Zen art. I wouldn’t be surprised to see ZenKids for a clothing line. If you find one, please send me the link!

In our new book, 100 Good Wishes: Honoring an Ancient Chinese Tradition, we've assembled a Zen garden of quilts. Each one has meaning not only in design but also in explanation. Each one causes me to pause and meditate on the message it conveys – usually a clever combination of sparkle and spirit. From the basic Hunka Hunka Chunks of Love to the playful, but more puzzling High Hopes, to the sleek, orderly Especially Four You, there is a quilt to draw you in.

I have always thought of Zen as a concept originating in Asia, but having mostly to do with meditation, with relaxing and shutting out the present world enough to really listen to your inner voice. Two things I read recently have deepened my understanding of the word, at least to the point that I have to admit that thinking about something is not the same as doing it. Quilting is no exception.

I have admired quilts that friends, grandmothers, and people with all sorts of style and ability have made. Lately I have browsed quilts displayed as art galleries on Web sites, where the fabrics are used as paints to create enchanting landscapes or images. You can see the mastery of color theory and balance in these works of art, and it’s hard to imagine how much vision, planning, and work went into the final product. How can I, as an aspiring quilter with a little sewing experience, reach this level of quilt-ability?

Simple. Just quilt with purpose.

When I read that the word Zen can mean to see deeply into the essence of something by direct experience, to come to understand something by a sudden flash of enlightenment, I was called to action. Inspired by the quilts in our new book, and by a young boy with special needs from my son’s orphanage in China, I am setting out on a new journey - to make a quilt that will enlighten me through the experience of making it, and enhance someone’s life through the pure giving of it.

I made my son’s 100 Good Wishes quilt when I was a giddy mom waiting with a lot of other parents for that coveted moment when I would learn the name and location of my new child in China. I knew how to sew, but I had never quilted before, and at the time, the “Maya” I was making it for was actually a little boy named Joshua, an unexpected but joyful twist in our adoption plot.

How appropriate, then, that I will be making a quilt to auction for another boy from the same place, who sees the faces of the same nannies that took care of Josh, until his new mom comes to get him. When I first saw the photos of the quilts Traci Sharpton and Elaina Fiedler had designed, I was immediately struck by the turtle quilt, which at the time didn’t have a title. As we talked about what to name that quilt, many clever ideas came up, but then the idea of “Turtle X-ing” emerged, and I can’t help but smile as I think of one of the meanings of the word “Xing” in Chinese, “Blessing,” and how in English, it stands for “Crossing.” I started thinking of all the little sea turtles that make it over to the ocean after hatching, unaware of many of the dangers and simply experiencing their passage, their first chance at life.

As I now cut squares for my Turtle X-ing quilt, I am focused on every edge, but also on the natural order and quiet that comes from seeing patterns that have been part of former quilts, costumes for my kids, and pieces that have inspired someone else’s quilt journey, coming together peacefully in groups of color and size. I am aware that there will be challenges along the way, but I’m choosing to see those as parallels to both the happiest and most difficult times in life. I turn to the cutting table when I need to block out other things, when I need to turn on another part of my conscience, one that is less needy and more willing to just do. The process has now become a refuge from the noise. That’s the real Zen, and I hope that’s your experience, too.

Whether you choose one or all of these inspiring designs for your 100 Good Wishes quilt, may your quilting journey give you many moments of peace and pleasant enlightenment.

Suzanne Mabee