Today is Bobmas, the holiest day of the knitting year, for today is the day that Ravelry was conceived.
It’s only fitting that today should be the day that most NPR affiliates broadcast “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me.” For you see, Mo Rocca recently stated on the air that handknitted sweaters were itchy. Well, you can imagine what happened next!
If you lack imagination, I’ll tell you: a group made Mo a beautiful, soft, non-itchy sweater that fit beautifully. How do we know it fit beautifully? These fabulous knitters presented it to him this week at a taping of the show.
(The segment is Panel Round Two – Mo Rocca vs. the Knitters: An Update and Reconciliation).
Chicago Public Radio’s blog gives the scoop:
Following the broadcast, Mo received tons of angry emails from a nationwide group of knitters. Yes. Knitters. People who knit. And they were smoking mad.
The first attempt at assuaging the burbling rage of the yarn spinners was a phone-in apology by Mo during a broadcast. Apparently, it was not enough. The bruised egos of those who crochet would not be salved by a mere apology. There had to be face-to-face confrontation.
After a digression about audiences for show tapings, the post continued with this humorous observation:
The knitters (from a group called Ravelry,) were lovely people who sat in the front row with balls of yarn at their feet. I’m pretty sure they were knitting throughout the whole show, like victims of OCD but with pointy needles.
If you scroll down to the bottom of their post you can see pictures of Mo in his nice new (non-itchy) sweater.
Happy Bobmas, one and all!
The show was pretty funny, but seeing the knitters and the sweater was even better. Thank you.
I loved the part about William H Macy and the boomarang collection. I didn’t even know the knitters were on today, we just happened to catch the show in the car today. I have to finish listening to it online, actually.
That was fun to read…I heard this weekend’s show—after hokgardner told me about the rest. Funny episodes…
I listen to wwdtm every week on podcast, and I heard the show where Mo made the original comment and thought, “Oh, he’s in trouble now!”
Happy Bobmas! I think it’s appropriate that I cast on two new projects yesterday.
It was you (hokgardner) who told me about Mo’s comments in the first place, when we were at Hill Country Weavers admiring all that tasty Noro. I looked it up and then forgot about it again until I heard the show yesterday.