Interested in an Upcoming Workshop in Bucks County, PA?

This shawl, pictured above, is a tribute to Harriet Tubman, who guided some 70 slaves to freedom, through wilderness in the dark of night, chased by bounty hunters, guided only her instincts, her visions, and the North Star. She reportedly made 19 trips back to the South and notably never lost anyone.

I called it "Harriet's Shawl" because in her later years she was often pictured weaving a large wrap around her shoulders. (By the way, she spent her later years in Auburn, NY, near my hometown of Rochester. It never ceases to amaze me to feel so close to greatness.)

Why did I dedicate it to Tubman? Because the motifs remind me of the forest, of darkness, of the stars she followed. And I did my best to make it beautiful, because her courage and strength are worthy of the best work I can create. (Not-so-humble brag: The scarf did win first prize at the faculty show at NEWS a few years ago, which makes me very proud.)

So what does this have to do with a weaving workshop? A dear friend, Hedy Lyles of Willow Grove, PA, passed away a short time ago and she had planned this workshop. We're doing it for the love of Hedy. Here she is at the loom she sold me, a 16-shaft Toika that I really like. (Except when it's hot and humid and the shafts stick, but that's another story.) Here, she's painstakingly showing me how to put the loom together.

She was also a terrific weaver, as you can see by this photo of her work:

So the workshop must go on, honoring both Tubman and Hedy. Here are the details:

GUILD: Handweavers of Bucks County

DATES: April 8-10, 2026

VENUE: Trinity Buckingham Church, 231 Durham Road, Buckingham, PA

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION: For anyone who can read a draft and warp a loom. For looms from 4 shafts to 16 shafts. Each weaver will first, with guidance from the instructor (on Zoom), paint her warp using alternating black and beige yarns in 16/2 cotton. (The trick is you'll automatically have two differently colored yarns for an Echo threading, as the beige yarn will dye colorfully and the black yarn won't take the dye.) You will come to the workshop with your warp dressed and ready to weave. For your "Harriet Shawl," you will weave a series of structures on your Echo threading, using different tieups and treadlings to weave Echo, Jin, Decorated Jin, and double weave. You'll also experiment with different weft yarns and colors, including active yarns such as wool/stainless steel, which will be provided by the instructor. You'll come away with a colorful, textured scarf with a multitude of patterns, colors, and textures that will be unlike any scarf you've woven to date, I boldly venture to say.

To give you a taste of what you're you'll be weaving, here's the double-weave design for the 8-shaft version: 

And that's just one of many varied designs you'll be weaving in different colors and textures.

We're looking for a few more weavers to sign up for this workshop. If you're interested you may contact me at kovnatdenise[at]gmail.com

I look forward to hearing from you!

By the way, I want you to know that I do try faithfully to write one blog post a month. December got away from me (not surprising, right?) so (fingers crossed) you'll be getting another blog post toward the end of January. Gotta meet those deadlines, right, even though they're self-imposed....

Thanks for reading!