Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

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Kate Clayton Donaldson

  • wcu_craft_revival-4295.jpg
  • This photograph of Kate Clayton Donaldson (ca. 1864-1960), commonly known as "Granny" Donaldson, was taken by Doris Ulmann in 1933 or 1934. Donaldson was working in the kitchen of the John C. Campbell Folk School when Allen Eaton visited the school, bringing several examples of international crafts to show the rural people what was being made elsewhere. This is how Donaldson learned about the decorative blankets made for the purpose of draping over cows for festivals in Italy. Donaldson's versions of "cow blankets" were created with crocheted and appliqué designs on a background of linen, each one unique. Mentioned in Eaton's 1937 book "Handicrafts of the Southern Highlands," cow blankets received nationwide recognition.