A Stitch in Time - The 365 Knitting Clock

I do a little less knitting since becoming hooked on crochet (sorry, pun not intended!) but more and more often there are knitting related projects that catch my eye and this is certainly one of them

The 365 Knitting Clock by Siren Elise Wilhelmsen is art in motion; not quite what you were looking for in terms of everyday functionality when searching for the perfect time-piece nor for helping the kids learn to tell the time. This clock is nothing short of genius; it makes a singular stitch each half hour, thus completing one full round per day. The result is a 2m long scarf in 365 days. The Norwegian artist explains that,

"(it) was made to measure... time in a three dimensional form... to visualize the otherwise invisible time factor that connects us all. Instead of showing time in numbers... the knitting clock aims the philosophical point of the ongoing process of time... and shows the time as something that is constantly moving, changing and developing. "

As a creative person, it is all to easy to focus on the finished item - particularly if there is a client waiting for said item or an Etsy shop waiting to be filled. Sometimes the thought of the finished item, and in turn its financial reward, takes away the enjoyment of the creation; the process. I love how this piece is all about the process and that it takes a full year to produce a scarf; what a painfully long time to wait. I can just imagine the sense of impatience that would build if you watched this clock daily in anticipation of the finished scarf. Can you?

To me it signifies a rebellion against the mass produced, the quick fix and the consumerism we see so abundantly in society these days. It embodies the notion that skilled craftspeople take their time to produce their work and that this is something to be appreciated and worth waiting for; that the process of creating is as beautiful as the finished piece. The same analogy can be applied to cooking

The 365 Knitting Clock can be loaded with a new ball of yarn for each year. As a big-time yarn aficionada, this makes me smile; I like to think it means that the future is a but a ball of wool, just waiting patiently to be created into something of great beauty...

Do you enjoy and appreciate the process when you are creating?

Lisa x

{photos by Miriam Lenhart via How to be a Retronaut}