"Echo and Jin": A Zoom workshop with Denise Kovnat

 In March, COVID closed the door. Not just for Reno Fiber Guild, but for most guilds in this country.  The unthinkable became a reality.  We would no longer be able to meet in person.  We couldn’t hold our monthly meetings with guest speakers.  Our pending workshops had to be cancelled. Our regional conference and Convergence were both cancelled.  But, we are a resilient group and soon Zoom meetings started popping up and discussions about virtual workshops gave us hope that we could continue meeting, sharing and learning in new ways.

In late July and early August, Denise Kovnat held a “virtual” workshop for our guild.  Several other guilds had members who also wanted to join in and so two separate sessions were held over a period of a few weeks.  This coming together with members of other guilds is something that usually only happens at conferences, so we were excited to be meeting old and new friends online.

What follows is the remarkable collection of samples woven using the technique of “echo” threadings and treadlings and also jin (aka turned taqueté) in our workshop with Denise.  In many ways, this was a challenging workshop. Participants chose patterns based on the loom they wanted to use and patterns ranged between 4 and 16 shafts.  Some chose a four color warp and some a two color warp.  The threadings were difficult and without a dobby loom, treadling sequences hundreds of picks long were hard to follow. But, the woven results are fantastic and I think the comments that accompany the samples will give you a good idea about the success of this workshop.

 Here is our show and tell.  Each participant took their own photo. ___________________________________________________________________________________

I had a great time! Learned a lot, have so many resources from the class to continue my learning! This is the Fun House, two color (purple and gold-Lunatic Fringe 10/2); 8 shaft, 2nd treadling with a dusty red (Lily 20/2) weft. I am weaving this as a scarf, hoping I have enough weft! I do have some other red that is very, very close so I think I will be fine. Excited to try the Double weave in Echo.
So glad I did this class!
Shelley N.

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 I absolutely loved this workshop.  I have been reading Denise's blog for some time now and was thrilled to discover I could take a class from her.  Due to the pandemic and the stay at home order, I am very grateful for the opportunity to partake in distance learning via Zoom.  Thanks to
the Reno folks who made this possible!  Sue V.

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This was my sample of 6 patterns(2 colors on each) of 4 shaft blooming leaf.  I have enough warp left for 2 scarves Still deciding on color for weft.  Thanks Denise.   Sue M. 

 

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This is Fish Tank Double Weave.  I sent front and back pictures.  It had large pockets and with one of the wefts cotton 20/2 and the other Jaggerspun Superfine Merino I got some lovely texture!  It was a fabulous workshop!
Mollie F.

 

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Eight shaft samples from Kathy R. after wet finishing.

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 I had a terrific time weaving these samples and trying out all sorts of different color wefts.  Being able to weave at home, made it possible for me to weave with 16 shaft patterns.  I learned lots and have lots more ideas for the future.  Thanks for the workshop, Denise.  Beryl M.

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Thanks to the Reno guild for the opportunity to attend the Echo and Jin weaving workshop. Denise Kovnat is a knowledgeable and patient instructor. Her ability to pivot and teach via Zoom is outstanding. I am thrilled that I was able to complete and document all the samples for the class. As a slow weaver, that rarely happens. I am inspired to deepen my understanding and have started planning a project based on my new skills.  Mary P.