Happy Pride Month!

After taking a little personal look into my family last week, I decided to dive in a little more.

Many of you who have been following the shop for years, have watched my kids grow up. My big one was 8 when I opened the shop and the little one was 5...they are now 17 and 14!!! They have changed, they don't really want to be involved with the shop (unless there is money involved and it's behind the scenes) and they are busy growing into the adults they will become. With this, my family has shared conversations about gender and sexual identity...conversations I NEVER had with my parents growing up!!! 

But just because these conversations were something I didn't experience, doesn't mean I should push them away or ignore them. I leaned into them over the years and I have learned a lot about myself and how to parent. 

I have no interest in winning the parent of the year award, but I do want to be the best possible parent for both my kids...keep with me here...I have a point!!!

I have always been an ally for anyone in the LGBTQ+ community. My kids saw that with my actions and felt safe sharing about who they found attractive, who they wanted to date and even conversations about how they wanted to express gender. 

There was never a "coming out" just a discovering who they were born to be.

Pride month is important to my family. It's important to feel seen and to have a community (kinda harkens back to my rambling last week). I understand that my decisions and the decisions of my children might not make sense to everyone reading this...but I appreciate that we live in a time and place where they are allowed to be who they want to be (I acknowledge that there are those who don't want to allow my kids to be who they are...but I will do everything I can do in my power to not allow those voices to affect them).

With all that said, you may wonder why I don't cover the shop in rainbows and flags to celebrate something that is important to me. I want EVERYONE to feel welcome here all the time....not just one month a year. At the top of our about page on our website we state our shop mission statement...

We have a huge heart for all things yarn related and for ALL people who enjoy yarn crafting. We are an inclusive gathering place for all races, religions, genders and crafts. 

This is, and always has been, very important to me! We carry yarn and accessories from those in the LGBTQ+ community, not because I'm trying to push an agenda, but because they are awesome makers who are awesome humans...YEAR ROUND.  When it comes to making money off Pride month, that's where things start feeling not so great for me. The commercialization of anything just makes me feel uncomfortable. 

This year we do want to celebrate by announcing that we are now a collection point for Knit the Rainbow. This means that we will collect scarves, beanies, gloves, socks, ear warmers and sweaters/cardigans that are either knit or crochet to provide essential layers of protection required during the harsh winter months. There are great pattern ideas on their website. 

During the month of June we will also donate 5% of our retail sales to Knit the Rainbow to help them continue shipping knit/crochetwear all over the nation!

I fully understand that not everyone reading this will agree with my decisions, and that is just fine! We don't have to agree....but I do ask for respect for me and my family.