Spinners Bare All (Or a LOT of It) in 2003 Calendar
By James Straub

ELLSWORTH—They are mothers and grandmothers. They have worked as nurses, teachers, librarians, shepherds, writers, store clerks and butchers. Many of them are old enough to collect Social Security.

They are beautiful, and Madison Avenue is wrong, dead wrong.

That bare truth is found in the 2003 calendar “Wearing Wool: Celebrating the Ancient Art of Spinning and the Ageless Beauty of Women.”

It is also obvious, although under more layers, at the weekly gathering of a group of Maine women. Calling themselves the “Wednesday Spinners” they come together in each other’s homes to “spin, share life changes and build a community of artists working in wool.”

The weekly sessions have continued for more than 25 years. Last week, more than a dozen women met at Judy Wick’s yurt on the shore of Herrick Bay in Brooklin. As usual, there was good food, good wool and good conversation.

This time however, boxes of the “Wearing Wool” calendar shared floor space with spinning wheels. More unusual was the presence of outsiders.

The calendar features photos of the women wearing wool and nothing else—just a hand-knitted scarf here, a hat there, mittens or socks.

 “Did it itch?” asked the reporter. The woman answered in a chorus of differing opinions.

“We were so cold, it didn’t matter,” said one, who is portrayed in one of the winter months.

“It felt wonderful,” said another, “because it kept us warm.”

“Good wool doesn’t itch,” pronounced another.

That comment initiated a lively debate that went on for several minutes.

The conversation revealed a group of women who, as their calendar says, can be “serious and playful” at the same time.

The playfulness is evident in the calendar’s cover photo and the photos that herald each month of the year. In June, two naked women shear sheep. In December, two naked women take a sleigh ride.

Artfully placed spinning wheels, lambs or fleece maintain decorum.

In July, eight naked women and one in tee-shirt and shorts lie on their bellies in a fan formation, wearing striped socks

Despite the humor, the underlying message is serious.

“Our unique shapes do not reflect the cultural standard,” the calendar states. “We are beautiful, gutsy, and stand in our truth as women and artists.”

Indeed, the photos shatter the myth created by advertising and pop culture that beauty belongs only to the young and slender.

“Ageism and sizeism are deeply rooted in a culture that values youth,” the calendar states. “What is deemed beautiful changes with each movie premier, each fashion magazine, and even in ads for products geared to older people, the models are always strikingly beautiful—never too crinkly, never overweight, always smiling, with perfect teeth.

“We hope that our calendar sends a message that affirms the ageless beauty of women—all women. We hope that our daughters and granddaughters will see their own beauty in much the same way.”

“We know we’re all gorgeous, and people are missing out if they don’t know that,” Cynthia Thayer said at the gathering in Brooklin. Thayer is a published novelist and owner with her husband of Darthia Farm in Gouldsboro.

There is another serious side to the calendar project.

“We wanted to make a difference in women’s lives by donating to a project helping women. We talked. The one issue that had directly touched us all in some way was breast cancer. Each of us knows someone affected by it—mother, sister, grandmother, neighbor, friend.”

The women will donate 10 percent of the net proceeds from calendar sales to INFORM Inc, a non-profit organization dedicated to identifying and eliminating the environmental causes of breast cancer and other cancers.

The other 90 percent?

“It’s going to Ireland,” several women called out in unison.

Back to playfulness. A dozen or so of the women will use the profits to visit Ireland, where they will share their love for wool and the “ancient art of spinning” as they explore a land that has nourished the craft for centuries.

Thayer said the idea of the calendar emerged from one of the group’s weekly sessions and took shape the following day as several women from the group were eating in a restaurant.

“We were talking about the possibility of a trip to Ireland,” Thayer said. “Someone asked, `How are we going to pay for that?’ We started with a book, then segued to a calendar.”

Thayer, 58, describes herself as a “grandmother, writer, organic farmer, bagpiper, teacher, indigo dyer and whip cracker.”

She was among the dozen or so wool-lovers-turned-calendar-stars in Brooklin last week.

Sue Hill, 62, was there. She owns a retail business on Isleford and describes herself as an “entrepreneur, traveler, grandmother, dyer and island resident.”

Karen Van Tine, 62, spends much of her time raising Angora rabbits at her home in Penobscot. She retired from a career in education after teaching French at Ellsworth High School for 25 years.

 Others at the gathering hailed from Steuben, Brooksville, Brooklin, Surry, Machias, Northeast Harbor, Franklin and other Maine communities.

The “Wearing Wool” creators will celebrate the calendar’s debut with a party for area retailers and media at the Riverside Café in Ellsworth on Friday, May 17.

It’s not the first time the calendar has been presented to the public, however.

Thayer and two other group members had just returned from the Book Expo in New York last week.

“It got an incredible response,” Thayer said of the calendar.

Those gathered in Brooklin last week were quick to list some of the celebrities and organizations that now own a calendar: Peter Jennings, CNN, Ms Magazine, Stephen King, Governor King, Dave Barry, Interweave Press, Mother Jones and more.

“They all have calendars,” the women said with a mix of pride and excitement.

The first printing of the calendar was 10,000. If early response is an indication, there are sure to be subsequent printings.

In addition to the fabulous photos in the calendar are soup recipes, instructions for knitting basic woolen items and an ample dose of philosophy.

“Everything you need to know is in the calendar,” one group member said.

Will fame change the group? No way.

 “I think the friendship we have here is remarkable,” said Helen Rundell of Brooklin. “It has helped us see some members through the end of their lives.”

“It’s a support group without all the trappings,” said Sue Hill. “There is no hierarchy in the group. That would kill us. There are no dues, no officers.”

Calendars soon will be available in retail shops and bookstores throughout Maine. They also can be ordered at www.wearingwool.com or by calling toll-free at 1-866-201-3641.

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