"Love Never Dies" Memorial Quilt Project

The “Love Never Dies” quilt project began shortly after the Suicide Prevention Awareness Network (SPAN USA) 10th annual National Awareness Event in Washington, DC . Delegates from the Network noted that Tennessee was one of the few states represented that did not have an official statewide survivor’s quilt. While local survivors’ groups across the state had quilts of their own, there was no quilt project that effectively represented all survivors across the state.

Such a quilt was deemed necessary to personalize the phenomenon of suicide, demonstrating to the community at large that suicide is not some abstract social phenomenon, but a legitimate public health crisis that affects many people within a given community.

The proposed quilt would be part of the Lifekeeper Memory Quilt Project, which aims to put a human face on the problem of suicide, personalizing the more than 30,000 suicides that occur in America each year.

The Network resolved to develop statewide quilts for use at local and national public awareness events and formed the Quilt Committee to handle all aspects of the quilt project, including recruitment of survivors for participation, logistics and design, handling submitted panels, and assembly of the quilts themselves.

The first of the Tennessee Memory quilts was assembled in July and made its official debut at the Suicide Prevention Awareness Day observance at the State Capitol on 13 September 2006. Other quilts are still in the assembly process. This is considered an ongoing project, and the Quilt Committee will be accepting submissions indefinitely.

Submitting a Panel

Panels should be submitted with the approval of next of kin.  The Network urges contributors to discuss the submission of your loved one's panel with family.

Each quilt will span six feet in length and width, with the center area reserved for an appliqué of the state of Tennessee and the words "Love Never Dies" in embroidery.

Individual panels are 8.5" X 11" fabric sheets for inkjet printers.  These sheets allow the contributor to lay the project out on the computer and print it directly onto the fabric that will be used in the quilt. Contributors should use the brand “Printed Treasures”, available at any craft or hobby store, for the sake of uniformity and consistent quality. These squares will be able to withstand heavy-duty washer and dryer cycles. Using material other than the fabric itself is not advised.

Each block should contain the birth and death dates of the honoree, as well as any other design elements the contributor wants, so long as they keep within 1 inch of the border.

If you require any assistance with your panel, members of the Quilt Committee will be happy to assist you. Contributors have the option of sending the committee chair, whose contact information follows, a picture of the honoree on CD (Walgreens has machines that can scan photos into digital copies) as well as any recommendations on wording and design, and the Committee will lay the panel out for them, clearing the finished product with the contributor prior to its incorporation into the quilt.

The Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network welcomes your contribution to this project. For questions, scholarship inquiries, or further assistance, contact the Quilt Committee Chair.

Karyl Chastain Beal
Tennessee Memorial Quilt
1107 Rip Steele Roa.
Columbia, TN 38401
931)388-9289
tnquilt@bellsouth.net

Ms. Beal should also be contacted if you wish to exhibit the quilt at your conference or event.

Quilt Itinerary

8/2/06 - Memphis Mental Health Summit - Memphis, Tennessee

8/4/06 - Suicide and the Black Church Luncheon - Memphis, Tennessee

8/10/06 - "Trauma and Suicide" lecture by Dr. Ken Tullis sponsored by the Memphis/Shelby County region - Memphis, Tennessee

8/14/06 - planning meeting for the Memphis Out of the Darkness Overnight event - Memphis, Tennessee

8/18/06 - TLC Suicide Awareness Kickoff - Martin, Tennessee

8/22/06 - Northeast Regional Suicide Prevention Network Meeting - Johnson City, Tennessee

8/31/06 - "Emergency 911 (Saving A Life: When Seconds Count)" - Cookeville, Tennessee

9/7-9/06 - SPAN USA's Eleventh Anniversary National Awareness Event - Washington, DC (registration)

9/13/06 - Suicide Prevention Awareness Day Proclamation - Nashville, Tennessee

9/15-16/06 - Statewide Foster Care Conference - Franklin, Tennessee

9/18/06 - Giles County Suicide Prevention Task Force Meeing - Pulaski, Tennessee

9/20/06 - Rural West Regional Suicide Prevention Network Meeting - Jackson

9/21/06 - DeKalb County Wellness Commission Suicide Subcommittee - Smithville, Tennessee

9/21/06 - "Love Never Dies: Ending the Silence of Suicide" - Memphis, Tennessee

9/22-23/06 - NAMI Tennessee State Convention - Gatlinburg, Tennessee (registration)

9/26/06 - "Light of Hope" Candlelight Vigil - Cookeville, Tennessee

9/26/06 - Northeast Regional Suicide Prevention Network Meeting - Johnson City, Tennessee

9/27/06 - East Tennessee Regional Suicide Prevention Network Meeting - Knoxville, Tennessee

9/28/06 - Upper Cumberland Regional Suicide Prevention Network Meeting - Cookeville, Tennessee

10/3/06 - Southeast Regional Suicide Prevention Network Meeting - Chattanooga, Tennessee

10/5/06 - "Suicide and the Black Church" Conference Planning Meeting - Memphis, Tennessee

10/6/06 - Association of Crisis and Contact Centers Conference - Knoxville, Tennessee

10/10/06 - Statewide Child Fatality Prevention Review Meeting - Nashville, Tennessee

10/11/06 - Tennessee Department of Health Injury Prevention Task Force Meeting - Nashville, Tennessee

10/12/06 - Mid-Cumberland Regional Suicide Prevention Network Meeting - Nashville, Tennessee

10/16-18/06 - The State of the Child Conference - Nashville, Tennessee

10/21/06 - Out of the Darkness Community Walk - Memphis, Tennessee

10/27/06 - Hickman County Suicide Prevention Task Force Meeting - Centerville, Tennessee

11/1/06 - Intra-State Departmental Meeting - Nashville, Tennessee

11/15/06 - Memphis/Shelby County Regional Suicide Prevention Network Meeting - Memphis