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quilting is a fascinating traditional art. Mrs. Conelly had the benefit of years of experience, some of which was under the auspices of Mountain Artisans.
Mountain Artisans was a government sponsored craftsmen’s cooperative, initiated in the days of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Infact, Eleanor Roosevelt was very much involved with the program.
Mrs Conelly quilted for the cooperative from 1969 to 1978. Aft first she said, the Mountain Artisan crafts were exclusive items, designed for very rich clientele. Later, the products included many lower priced items.
According to Mrs. Conelly, the intent of Mountain Artisans was to help lowincome people in the area, as well as to promte mountain crafts. But, she told us, all workers were considereed self-employed, and had to pay social security and estimated taxes And they received little or no training.
Virtually all participants were experienced at their crafts (or a similar product) before they entered the program. “The government wasn’t interested in pouring money and resources into training inexperienced workers.” she told us. "So they were definitely looking for women who knew how. It wasn’t hard to go from sewin’ a dress to quiltin’ a quilt.” Mountain Artisans craftspersons only produced leather and fabric goods. During her participation in
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