Turning the Quilts

A local D.A.R. chapter held a quilt show this weekend, and they had advertised that a “Quilt Turning” would be part of the show. I had never heard of a quilt turning, and neither had my friend who was interested in going as well. So we were in for a treat when we realized that a quilt turning is a formal presentation of quilt histories.

All the quilts to be presented are layered lasagna-style on top of a bed (choose a twin size bed with a beautiful and/or period-appropriate frame). Two people are the turners on each side of the bed (for this show they were wearing archival gloves) and they hold up the quilts one at a time to display them for the crowd, while a presenter with a microphone explains interesting details about the quilt. Each quilt for this show was given in the format of: “Name of quilt- year made- creator- reason for the quilt (ie, wedding gift, baby shower, etc) and any other interesting facts about the quilt, such as the circumstances of its purchase if it was found in an antique store or estate sale”. Audience members can then ask any questions of the presenter. The quilt is then carefully folded back down on the previous quilts, and the next one is picked up and displayed. It’s not the fastest process in the world, but the effect of an intricate quilt displayed in this way is really lovely.

For this show, it was revealed during the quilt turning that four generations of the same family were represented among the quilts present. There were about sixty quilts on display for this show, and the combined history and artistry in the room was just incredible. I’ve now gone from having no idea what a turning was, to wanting to incorporate them at all kinds of events. It would be such a nice addition to bridal showers, archives events, county fairs, the sky’s the limit. Well, actually the true limit is the number of quality quilts you can assemble and having enough space for a bedframe!