"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.

 

 

Japanese Textile Studies - A Year Long Adventure

Jill  showing a garment that she constructed and dyed using Shibori techniques.

September means the beginning of a new guild year and this year Reno Fiber Guild is on a Japanese Textile adventure.  At our meeting, we invited two members who have been on textile tours in Japan and several more who just love  Japanese textiles and techniques  and agreed to share their work and textiles with members.

 

Diana  shows a scarf made of polyester that has been heat set so that the textured surface is permanent

 

 

The guild is interested in learning new skills and one of those that has a lot of potential for use in jewelry and decorative bands and braids is Kumihimo. 

 

Suzanne shows off her Kumihimo technique on the Marudai.  This pattern is using 16 tama in an 8 move sequence.

Nancy is braiding with eight tama and changes the colors after a certain length is braided so that she will have materials for three neckpieces.



 



Mary explained some interesting facts about Sashiko embroidery in her presentation.

Sashiko (an embroidery technique) is also something that seems quite plausible in decorating cloth for a variety of uses.

 

Julie purchased Haori from Kasuri Dyeworks in Berkeley quite a few years ago.  She brought her collection which had interesting surface design work.

For the grand finale, the members showed items that they had in their own private collections. Some of us had enjoyed the "old days" in which used kimono could be purchased by the 200 pound bale. Diana explained that now, the used kimono are being sold directly in street fairs instead of allowing them to be exported.  However,  prices still remain reasonable for cloth that was painstakingly created and still gorgeous.

This very long textile is an elegant obi embroidered with real gold threads.  Toni says she has used it as a table runner for holidays.

 

We ended the evening enjoying all the books and textiles on display with an eye on a full year of indulging our passion for weaving, dyeing and surface design.  Stay tuned for more posts as we learn and create our own Japanese style textiles

September Meeting Kicks Off our Guild Year

The Reno Fiber Guild had their first meeting of the guild year on Sept. 3rd.  It was full of guild business, but there was also time for some spectacular "Show and Tell" and a "Make and Take" Christmas tree felted ornament. 

Nancy  wove and constructed this kimono.  The painted warp was 10/2 mercerized cotton sett at 24 epi.  At the shoulders, Nancy reversed the pattern so that the "feathers" would all point downward and she took advantage of the warp end to make a fringe detail on one of the sleeves.

Lorene was the winner of the "Little Luxuries" raffle basket at our May Christmas party!  Among the treasures was a skein of fluffy pink yarn which Lorene used as weft in this "luxury" scarf. 

 

Toni is the weaver of this tapestry.  Here is what she said about her piece.

 

"Sheila Hicks has been juried into several Biennials and is represented by a Gallery in New York, who displayed some of her work at the recent Art Basel in Miami, Florida last March. I find it inspiring that a fiber artist has reached the status of New York Galleries and a Paris address, and have always followed her work. I gasped when I saw the price tag on her small 8x12 inch  work entitled "Sweden" done in white and bits of blue; $10,000. and was inspired to weave my own interpretation"

 

And finally here is a sampling of the Christmas ornaments made under the supervision of Lorene and Victoria.

left - Lorene's ornament with rick rack border  center - Sharon's ornament and right is Suzanne's ornament.