I am attaching a picture of a bed turning I attended about 5 years ago. This event was held in conjunction with the Bible camp quilt auction where I contribute quilts. The organizers set up an antique bedroom in the chapel and layered the bed with about 20 quilts. All were made prior to 1950 and were submitted by people in the community. The narrator gave information about each quilt and its history. The quilt was lifted from the bed and held up for better viewing and finally carried away, revealing the next quilt. The crazy quilt pictured was submitted by my mother.
I apologize for the picture (I think that is my mother's head on the left!), but I hope you can get an idea of what it was like. I enjoyed seeing all of the lovely old quilts and hearing their stories.
I read once that bed turning originated in homes - at the end of the quilting season, a family would invite friends in and show the quilts made during the winter. The quilts were all layered on the bed and shown one by one. What a beautiful tradition!
Dayle
P.S. I forgot to mention that the bed in the turning I attended had the back end (head of the bed) up on blocks, so that it was tipped forward slightly for a better viewing angle.
Last edited by Daylesewblessed; 10-18-2012 at 06:01 PM.