Clara's Window

Knitter's Review Gets Official XXX Rating?

In this week's newsletter I mentioned the publication of a new calendar featuring women in their birthday suits surrounded by knitting/spinning fiber, tools, garments, etc. in various discrete poses.

It's the same idea as Ladies' Auxiliary calendar from England that was oh-so-popular. Only this comes from a group of women who've been meeting here in Maine for over 25 years. They're mostly spinners, but they also knit and weave. They'll be donating 10% of proceeds to charity.

It's a positive, diversity-friendly, women-positive, embrace-all-body-types-and-sizes type of production, just like the British one was. It features no brawny men named Helmut and Thor, no bear-skin rugs, no roaring fires.

However, apparently the mere mention of the calendar trashed the otherwise pure and innocent image of Knitter's Review. A distressed reader wrote,

"This idea is without merit and in very bad taste. We are committed to clearning up porno on the internet and this is porno and unappreciated. If this is an example of the types of things you are offering on what was a clean site then please delete my name and URL."

Knitting yarns? Porn? Would it be possible to find two less connected things?

In fact maybe that's what this industry needs. A little smutty scandal could do the knitting world some good. I'll call up some Hollywood agents and get on it ASAP.