I knit with glass. You may be picturing my lightning fingers, industrial needles and miles of glass strands, all poised in front of a torch. And as a sucker for a good story, I would love to tell that you’re exactly right. Like the Roadrunner cartoon character, my hands move so fast, all you can see is a blur.
But alas, like real life knitting, with fiber, my work is a slow, and many would say, tedious, process. It involves some heat, but no exhilarating contact with molten glass.
But alas, like real life knitting, with fiber, my work is a slow, and many would say, tedious, process. It involves some heat, but no exhilarating contact with molten glass.
My "Rumpelstiltskin" moment didn't involve spinning straw into gold, but turning wax into glass. This wasn't something I'd ever seen anyone else do, so there was no road map to follow. It took a lot of trial and error.
Why do I knit in glass? I see my knitted work as metaphor for social structure. Individual strands are weak and brittle on their own, but deceptively strong when bound together. You can crack or break single threads without the whole structure falling apart. And even when the structure is broken, pieces remain bound together. The connections are what bring strength and integrity to the whole and what keep it intact.
But as citizens of the world, you already know that.
More info: carolmilne.com | Knitting with glass
Night tide
Made to measure
Knit knot
Wabi sabi
Handmade
Beyond measure
Three-way split
Ringlet
Love is in the air
Hand dyed
Go knit yourself
