Submitting a Panel for the Quilt

Once a panel is completed there are several ways to submit it to the NAMES Project, so that it becomes a part of the AIDS Memorial Quilt.

You can:

• Send it to us directly at the NAMES Project Foundation:
  

  Attn: New Panels
  The NAMES Project Foundation
  637 Hoke St NW
  Atlanta, GA 30318-4315
  
  404.688.5500
  

  Be sure to send it by registered mail or with a carrier that will track your package. We recommend panels be shipped via Federal Express or UPS.
  
  
• Bring the panel to a Quilt display. Please be sure to contact the local display host first for more information on how and when they are collecting new panels (many displays accept new panels only on the last day of the event, while others are prepared to accept new panels at any time during a display).
  

• Bring a new panel to one of our chapters, where your panel will stay in the community for up to three months, being used for education and outreach, and then will be sent to the Foundation to be sewn into the Quilt.

Important: No matter how you decide to turn in a new panel, please be sure to print out the panel maker information form, fill it out and include it with the panel. This information helps us to stay in touch with you and keep you up to date on both the panel and The Quilt.

How your panel becomes part of the Quilt:

When a new panel arrives at our national headquarters in Atlanta, it is carefully logged and examined for durability. Some panels might require hemming to adjust for size; others may need reinforcement or minor repairs. Next, new panels are sorted- some grouped geographically by region, others by theme or appearance. When eight similar panels are collected, they are sewn together to form a twelve foot square. This is the basic building block of The Quilt, and it is usually referred to as either a "12-by-12" or "Block".

Once sewn, each 12-by-12 is edged in canvas and given a unique number, its "Block Number", which makes tracking the block possible. All panel, panel maker and numerical information is then stored in our Quilt databases. Once this happens, you are sent information including which block the panel you submitted has been made a part of, how to request the block for displays of The Quilt, and a current display schedule.

The entire process, from our receiving the panel to incorporating it into a 12-by-12 in The AIDS Memorial Quilt, typically takes between 90 days and six months.

Questions?

"The only dumb question is the question you have but never ask!" Email us at panels@aidsquilt.org or call Roddy Williams, Panel Maker Relations, or Gert McMullin, Production Manager, at 404.688.5500.