Happy Pride

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It’s Pride Week here in Toronto, and it all culminates today in a huge parade downtown. The Toronto Pride Parade is massive, and there’s no fun like it anywhere. Where else can you see the Mayor, the Chief of Police and Politicians from all Political parties walking side by side with GLBT&Q folk of all ages and stripes? It’s a living expression of the ethic once stated by one of our Prime Ministers, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, who famously said “the state has no place in the bedrooms of the nation.” I go to pride most every year and I think you can get rainbow everything there (and I mean *everthing*) with the exception of yarn.

If you’re feeling a little pride today, and you’d like to express it in a woolly way, I’ve done some homework for you.

Regia Nation colour 5399 – Carodan farms has it here.

Blue Moon Fiber Arts “Pride”

“Rainbow Earth” from the Yarn Cafe.

Lorna’s Laces “Rainbow”



Painted Tiger superwash worsted “Rainbow”

Trekking #52

Kauni EQ (of course)

Knitivity’s rainbow Pride packs.

Knitspirations “Pride”

It always seemed to me a bit pointless to disapprove of homosexuality. It’s like disapproving of rain.

~Francis Maude

I’m a supporter of gay rights. And not a closet supporter either. From the time I was a kid, I have never been able to understand attacks upon the gay community. There are so many qualities that make up a human being… by the time I get through with all the things that I really admire about people, what they do with their private parts is probably so low on the list that it is irrelevant.

~Paul Newman

As long as society is anti-gay, then it will seem like being gay is anti-social.

~Joseph Francis



For every beauty there is an eye somewhere to see it. For every truth there is an ear somewhere to hear it. For every love there is a heart somewhere to receive it.”

~ Ivan Panin

205 thoughts on “Happy Pride”

  5. Thanks, Stephanie. I’m quite proud to live in the first state in the US to legalize gay marriage. I look forward to the day when our whole country joins yours in recognizing the civil rights of all our citizens. Yea Canada!

  6. Wish I got this idea before!
    Everybody here in Germany is showing nation colours because of the final game of the European Football Cup today.
    Some Rainbow sock would have been a nice thing to wave. Maybe in 2010….

  7. Je suis bien heureuse de vivre dans un pays où les droits et libertés de chancun sont respectés (enfin presque!).

  8. Great post, great quotes, and awesome yarn! How about all knitters making a pair of rainbow socks to show our pride?

  13. I like that you call it “pride week” instead of “Gay Pride” like everybody calles it here (United States). It sounds so much better. I’m also going to have to get some of that yarn for my uncle.

  14. Yep, Chicago’s Pride parade is today also. When my girls were little & we lived in the city, we went to it every year – such fun. The first Gay Pride parade in Chicago in 1970 (if I remember correctly) was organized by friends of mine. I can’t believe how much it’s grown – & love that the politicians all brag about being in it when for the first several years they went out of their way to try to ban it. I’ve never understood why anyone would be interested in what someone else does with their private parts (unless they are interest in having a relationship). Happy Pride Day to all LGBT knitters everywhere (& to the non-knitters too).

  15. PROUD! Getting married for the 3rd time (to Lala, as usual) soon, while it’s legal (before Californians take away that right in November….). Went to the dyke march last night and watched all the ladies. Ate sushi, drank beer, took BART home. I love this time of year. xox

  16. That sounds like so much fun. Have a great time and a report back on the festivities would be wonderful!
    A very wonderful post.

  17. Love often seems to be a rare commodity. For two people to find it, but not be allowed to act on it is the real crime.

  19. Thanks, Stephanie! (and PattiS) I appreciate the link and reference.
    PattiS: if there’s other groups I failed to include, please let me know.

  20. GOOD FOR YOU!!!!! I live in one of the most anti-gay states in the US and sometimes the level of hate is purely nauseating. Two of my best friends in the world just celebrated 10 years together, which is longer than SO many heterosexual relationships. Their love & kindness for each other has been an inspiration to me in my own marriage. To say they don’t have the right to that love is just hateful & wrong.

  23. Thanks for reminding everyone about Pride. I’ll be marching with BiNet Seattle later today with my husband (yes, we’re both bi). I wish gay marriage were legal in Washington State. We have some friends who have been together for over 30 years and I would love to go to their wedding someday.

  26. Happy Pride! I’m skipping the main parade today – doing the Dyke March yesterday, and then wandering Church St. last night until late wore me out. But this weekend is one of the highlights of my year. (Plus, I met my girlfriend at Pride last year, so it holds an extra-special place in my heart.)
    That yarn is fabulous. Now I want some of the Knitivity leather pride yarn, as well as the rainbow.

  27. Thank you for the post! Uplifting for all of us! I only wish I had planned ahead to be knitting in rainbow colors today, instead of the dull, in comparison, grey socks that I promised I would finish this weekend.

  29. FAAAB-ulous! (I do say it too often, but sometimes it just fits!)
    I’m managing to miss my first-ever Pride in Toronto, which is too bad, but hey, it’ll happen again next year.

  30. Thank you for this. It just warms my heart to see such support when it sometimes feels as though we’re surrounded by divisiveness and hate.

  31. Beautiful thinking! I purchased the knitspirations. Sounds like a fun day in Toronto.

  32. Cool way to celebrate-though knitting near the water guns might be a bit hazardous – though maybe felting??
    Good quotations. Right on.

  34. Hell with that — where’s this year’s photo of a nearly-naked leather guy holding your sock? C’mon, there are expectations to be met.

  35. I love the quotes! “Disapproving of rain” indeed! It makes me crazy when people refer to homosexuality as a “lifestyle.” As the (very proud) straight sister of a wonderful gay brother and a terrific lesbian sister (all children of extremely conservative parents), I can assure you that being gay is not a “choice.” Considering the abuse and rejection gay people have suffered at the hands of society, who in their right mind would make such a choice?

  36. Love all the quotes! I’ve never really understood what makes someone get up in the morning and hate other people for something that’s not their business anyway. We all need each other, gay and straight.

  41. Thank you for the great post. I like the Paul Newman quote. And agree with Rams that a nearly naked leather guy, with or without your sock, would be a nice addition to the festivies.

  42. I love it! Good for Canada!
    (I’m from Texas… but I’m praying for us to be as open and caring as you, too.)

  43. 1- Oh cool, a pride week! That’s so neat. Argh. Why is my country so backwards? We need a pride week in the US.
    2- Oooh rainbow yarns… so cool! Thanks for doing the homework for us!
    3- I love that first quote.

  45. Thank you, Stephanie. Your post makes my heart sing. Now to follow the yarn links. As always, Canada and Northern CA lead the way!

  47. Rams, I love your way of thinking!!!
    Red Heart used to have some yarn called Mexicali that was very rainbow-eque. My mom had made an afghan of it in the 1970s, and my 6 year old daughter found the 30 year old leftover balls and had me make her a sweater – it turned out cute (though scratchy).

  48. Thank you for this post, Stephanie. As a bisexual knitter, it means a lot to me when other knitters openly support our community.

  49. My favourite activity while knitting is listening to audio books. I have recently been enjoying Diana Gabaldon’s “Lord John” series. I forget the name of the narrator but he’s pretty terrific–better than the movies. The protagonist is a gay man in 18th century society. Fantastic writing. very insightful and thought provoking in a good kind of way.

  52. I live in Scotland. Last year on holiday in Palm Springs we went to watch the Pride march there. It was the most brilliant, funny and uplifting experience I’ve had in ages, thinking about it still makes me happy.

  53. Noro has a rainbow yarn too — the Kureyon Sock #S-185. Totally rainbow though it doesn’t look like it from the outside of the skein.
    Happy Pride Day!

  57. Thank you, Stephanie!! The love of my life and I have been together since 1992, and we got married in Ottawa in 2004; now New York is recognizing same-gender marriage from other places, though not performing them. Yet. The world is opening up in so many ways; I never thought we’d be able to marry, and we have!
    I got the Pride Blue Moon Fiber Arts yarn at Lettuce Knit last weekend, and as gorgeous as it was on the skein, the ball is a real wonder!! Can’t wait to get those socks made!

  58. LOVE that quote from Paul Newman, and I quite like the one from Pierre Trudeau as well…can I throw in some Beatles? Love is all you need!

  59. Happy Pride week. Thank you for the wonderful post and the marvelous quotes. Now if only the US would open their minds, too…

  60. Don’t count out the San Francisco Pride Celebration! -_^ Since we just got the gay marriage thing here (about time!) there were lots of newly weds and wedding attire. My favorite sign:
    “We’re here, we’re queer
    And we’re registered at Macy’s”
    Happy Pride!

  61. Great quotes, thank you for those. A dear friend of mine said to me once, “we wouldn’t need gay pride if there wasn’t so much gay shame.” That made me so sad. We’re chipping away at this little by little in the US, but there needs to be so much more progress towards recognizing that any loving relationship is a wonderful thing, and a loving family is beautiful no matter who defines what people are in that family.

  64. Here here!! We love Gay Pride and we have gone every year in Atlanta. Sadly, we will be missing it this year since we have moved out of Atlanta. Always entertaining to say the LEAST!

  66. Thanks for doing the homework! Lovely colors.
    Also, Ivan Panin’s quote is wonderful. I’m writing that one down for future reference.

  68. Thanks for the quotes. Love the first one. Also thanks for the yarn links. I’ve got to buy something and knit with as many of them as possible to support friends. And last, but definitely not least: thank you for this post. It’s a wonderful way to hopefully educate the wider community against hate. You go girl! Let us know when we are starting the Pride sock. I’ll even try to help design if needed.

  70. Thank you!! For all of it. The post, the quotes, the gorgeous yarn links. June has always been one of my favorite months, because it is PRIDE! month just about everywhere. 🙂

  71. Great post, Stephanie. You got a loud “Hear, hear!” from me.
    I particularly like the Trudeau quote and congratulations for finding the one sensible thing Francis Maude ever said.
    – Pam

  73. This post totally made my day! I marched in Chicago’s Dyke March yesterday and am feeling extremely proud this weekend. I have, however, never seen the pride packs of yarn before, and am really excited that I can follow up the pride of this weekend with some rainbow colored knitting…Thanks for the support!

  74. Good for you for blogging about this, Stephanie, it has to get said, over and over, until people HEAR it.
    I’m a proud mama of a DD who went to an interfaith leadership camp, and will not allow ANY other teenagers to say “that’s so gay” in her presence. And was one of the first to sign up for the Ally program at school, where kids agreed to not say it for one day, and they all got these buttons….And we’re all still pretty pleased that Massachusetts has legalized marriage properly!!!!! As my SIL says, The strength of my marriage is not affected by what someone else does!!!!!!!

  75. Very well put! I agree with what several other posters said about it being nice that it is just Pride Week and not Gay Pride Week. Have fun today!

  78. You are so lucky you live in Canada. I would have loved to have gone this weekend. Unfortunately I had to work all weekend! Love the quotes!

  80. I was wondering what on earth Pride Day was. I thought it was probably some strange Canadian Patriotic March Down Main Street thing or something. It wasn’t until I got to the quotes that I twigged to what it is. Exactly like our Gay Mardi Gras.
    One story my oldest son told me that I really love. He’s struck up a friendship with a guy who’s come out. He and Jack (both 16) were walking around at the school swimming sports. Ben was telling Jack which guys he thought were hot, and Jack was pointing out the girls he thought were hot and they were swapping notes on each others tastes. They thought it was really funny.

  81. I believe we’re both old enough to well remember the fear and loathing engendered by the bath house raids. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_Toronto_bathhouse_raids )
    Thanks be we live in a land with some measure of common sense, we’ve come a long way, baby.
    “Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is ours.” – Cesar Chavez

  82. Amen Stephanie. I don’t understand where all the hatred comes from. I love Paul Newman’s quote.

  84. “Where else can you see the Mayor, the Chief of Police and Politicians from all Political parties walking side by side with GLBT&Q folk of all ages and stripes?”
    Boston, Atlanta, Vancouver, San Francisco, San Diego, New York City, Seattle, … every year, more cities are added to the list of those holding parades with all these groups marching together – and some of those cities have parades even older than Toronto’s. The world *has* improved in some ways! (And for Shannah from Texas: check out Austin and even Houston, which each have impressive Pride Parades … in Texas!!!)

  85. I think next year’s Pride Week is asking for a yarn event. I bet you could get Franklin in on it. I know a handful of other GLBT folks who knit too, so I imagine Toronto must have more than that. Just sayin’.

  86. How lovely! I am Very proud to have a sister who is gay, and am making us matching kauni cardigans and am almost done with the second sleeve of the first one! So fun to work on this today of all days. Love to all!

  87. Rats, didn’t know it was Pride Weekend until after the parade had quit in Atlanta. Oh well what is a straight girl to do with a bad antenna for these things.

  88. Thank you Stephanie! I just left Toronto this afternoon from a wonderful weekend at Pride. This was my third year – and certainly not the last.

  89. Love those quotes!
    Hoping for more gay rights here in Australia, well done to Canada for leading the way with gay marriage 🙂

  91. Thanks for all the links for rainbow colored yarns. I’ll check them out later, after I’ve finished my gay friend’s birthday present– a scarf in graduated shades of beige. Can’t be fabulous every day, *dahling.*

  92. My brother married his husband June 17 at San Francisco City Hall after only a 21-year engagement.
    Don’t you think they rushed into things??
    Must get some of that yarn. And — I must send some love to Sally a few posts up, she’s not feeling the love yet, poor thing.

  94. and this year they finally got a pride parade in Jerusalem, at long long last! with a twist on the end of the (passover) seder – next year in Tehran!
    amen

  95. Yay! Going out and getting some of that beautiful Lorna’s Laces – I love rainbows, and Pride Week. So glad you posted this.

  98. yay for allies! thank you! I enjoyed new York city’s pride festivities today.

  99. Hey. I don’t believe in fear and that is all homophobia is about. And even if I don’t understand it, that’s just ok since I don’t have to understand it all.
    Now there is something really important happening in my world. My friend Dawn is having a birthday on 7/4/08. Everyone in the US is partying with her. That is cool. I hope you read these things, cause I want a signed copy of your book to give her. Is that possible? Failing that can you just mention a Happy Birthday to her on that day. Actually both things would be really cool. What do you think?
    Thanks,
    Cynthia

  100. hear hear!
    I’m with LaurieM- what better way to celebrate our nations’ b-day than by celebrating what makes us great: our support and celebration of all (or at least our movement towards support and celebration of all!)
    have a sunshine-y day (hopefully not with a humidex of a zillion!)

  104. thank you for this post stephanie. i have four children. i have no idea if they will grow up to be gay, straight, or something altogether unique, but i do know that whoever they are, i hope the world will value them for their contributions and talents and avoid judging them for their nature. it has always seemed almost as odd to me as thinking someone is unnatural because their hair is red.

  105. Thank you very, very, very much. Beautiful post and I’m very grateful for the sentiment. The wife and I both missed the Pride celebrations in SF today and yesterday, but we were on hand at the San Francisco City Hall to watch newlyweds come out, and we cheered (and I sobbed). We’ll marry soon legally, but as i know you understand, the legality does not make the marriage. Thank the powers that be that some folks came to their senses, however, and gave us a little more equality….
    thank you for supporting us all!

  106. way to go Stephanie! I was just watching the Chicago news about our Pride parade, and then come here to find your post. Very cool.

  107. Amen! Love your quotes. It’s encouraging to read so many positive comments.
    I’d like to add a link. Here is hope for change in our world:
    http://www.mlive.com/columns/grpress/charles_honey/index.ssf?/base/news-0/121463371241310.xml&coll=6
    For those who read the many comments…
    “The more people speak up, including gays and their family members, the less fear and secrecy can prevent us from understanding this vital issue.” Charles Honey, Grand Rapids Press
    It is about the rainbow. Imagine a world with only shades of grey.
    Thank you, dear Harlot!

  109. Paul Newman has always been hot in my book and now he’s even hotter.
    And Canada? Way cool. Thanks for the rainbow connection to the yarn.

  110. Pride weekend here in SF has been especially poignant this weekend since marriage has just been declared legal. It is amazing, fabulous, and full of love. What more could someone ask for when it comes to relationships between humans! I’m so proud to be a citizen of a state that finally realized that people are people. And whatever they do in their bedrooms has NOTHING to do with the love and devotion they feel toward their partners. As long as I live I will remember this pride week. Here in California it is a momentous and historical weekend. I’m so excited to be a teeny, tiny part of it.

  112. thank you so much for taking the time to express so perfectly the need to be openminded and understanding in the world we live in today.

  113. really awesome post 🙂
    I’m not sure why Boston does it earlier than everyone else, but Pride here a couple weeks ago was wonderful and amazing. I’m sure Toronto was a blast today… wish I was there!

  114. Pride week here in Anchorage, too. The parade was wonderful, and the big party in the park was a hoot. I met such a variety of kind and thoughtful people – I was standing with a Peace sign for Women In Black on the next corner.
    Carol

  115. I am living right now in the San Francisco Bay area. This week end was Pride weekend here, too. Because the California Supreme Court recognized that marriage of same-sex couples is part of the state constitution, this has been a very festive time. Wonderful! I saw a woman in a knitted rainbow sweater last night — you can wear that in SF in the summer, given how cold it gets her.

  116. Stephanie, THANK YOU! From the vantage point of my Advanced Age, I can say that LOVE, true tender adoring love, is a precious commodity to be cherished. What sort of person the loving hearts live in is of no account; the bodies will fade, the love continue. I’m hoping the fact that acceptance of that fact, gradually – here and there – may be the first millisecond toward Peace in the world.

  117. Thank you. You absolutely rock and I’m so glad you’re a supporter/ally. Pride was amazing in Seattle too…

  118. thank you for this post, and it´s so wonderful to see all the happy comments on it. and yes, we have long since legalized gay marriages here, they can now even get married in church; and yes we have legalized adoption for gay couples and also artificial conception. but, I recently had to try to explain to my child why there are special laws to allow that. she just didn´t get it, why aren´t there then special laws about red-haired people being allowed to marry and have kids, or those with big noses? hm, I must admit I was at a loss for words on that one!
    best wishes from Iceland, where we have one of Europe´s biggest Pride Parades in august.
    Frida

  119. Thanks so much for your comment on the pride. We had our Pride in Paris-France 2 days ago. I attended it with my girlfriend and gosh I was sooooooo proud to be there!!!
    I hope that we will be able to marry real soon in France. That would be a great day for us and our 5 kids…
    Best wishes from France…

  120. God, I’m so JEALOUS of Canada most of the time. You guys are way cool. Can I come over to play?

  121. What a great post!! We need more people who love everyone for who they are in this world!

  124. Canada is so very cool! As an out and proud lesbian in a five year relationship, I’m so glad for the support from fellow knitters!!
    Barbara

  126. I just love you Stephanie. You are a truly kind, funny and beautiful person. I am not gay but my first child is (he is now 42). I am so proud of him and his brothers and sisters (not gay) are proud of him as well. We have all been enlarged and refreshed by being exposed to the gay community. They are people, just like the rest of us and a WHOLE lot nicer than a bunch of “straight” people I know.

  128. Paul Newman said it best. Too many qualities go into making a person. That should not be on the top 2,000 of anyone’s list.

  129. After California legalized gay marriage a few weeks ago i saw a televised special showing the very first ceremony which was between Del Martin, 87, and Phyllis Lyon, 84, who have been together for more than 50 years. It was so beautiful that after more then half a century the were finally allowed to wed that i cried like a baby.

  131. Every week is Pride Week in the City of Brotherly Love! We earned our nickname fair and square 😉
    Also the “disapproving of rain” quotation is truly spot-on!

  132. Thank you for this post! My son came out to me when he was 14 and I couldn’t love him more! He is a handsome, extremely musically talented young man and he is going off to college this fall. As his mom, of course I’ll worry. But after reading your post today, I know that he will find acceptance and love out in the world. Thank you!
    P.S. I already ordered “Pride” from Blue Moon Fiber Arts to make him a pair of fingerless mitts to go off to school with!

  133. I went to Toronto Pride yesterday and all I felt was overwhelmed by all the happiness and love everywhere. The weather held out, I met Jack Layton, and saw John Barrowman (formerly of Doctor Who). I went with on of my very best friends and had an awesome time!
    Can’t wait to go again next year!

  136. Thanks for this post. As a high school teacher, watching young people struggle with all the identity issues of adolescents, I can’t imagine how it would feel to be something that the society says is “wrong”, “sinful”, “abnormal”. The quotes are wonderful and right to the point. More love…

  137. Our Pride Week here in Pittsburgh was the week before. And naturally I found out about it by seeing the picture in the newspaper after it was over…
    Love, love, love the quotes, and the yarn links.

  138. I’m so sorry to hear there’s no pride yarn *at* the parade. But happy you brought out the links. Happy Pride Week everyone! I’m happy to see so many readers chiming in.

  139. Of course, camping in the wilds of Nova Scotia, David & I didn’t really see anything Pride-like this weekend. We did, however, have a very nice little civil wedding on the beach and decided we would be quite happy to live there if the need should ever arise.

  140. And don’t forget Noro Kureyon sock yarn (180? 182?)-horrid rough stuff but great colours. And Fun KNits (a Canadian shop) carries both Noro Kureyon sock yarn and the Kauni.

  144. I love the quotes. And I think Trudeau had it just right; the State has no business whatsoever in the bedrooms of its constituents.

  145. This post made my day! Thanks, Stephanie. My partner and I have been together for 18 years and have three kids together. We haven’t been to the Pride parade in a while, but there is *nothing* like the feeling of being able to walk down the street holding hands with the person you love and having nobody even notice. It’s a simple thing, and indescribably joyful.

  146. Thank you for sharing, caring, and supporting us all! My wife and I have been together for over 11 yrs. We survived raising teenage boys, going to college together as adults, loving my parents through my father’s cancer death, my traumatic broken leg, and all those other things that happen to “normal” people through the course of LIFE. Reading the comments has been as empowering as the original post today. This does prove that knitters are loving accepting people who value life! Living in a city full of lesbians (there are also many of the GBT&Q folks too!) I fully support public knitting and public kissing!

  147. This was very moving and I loooove the quotes! I might make an entry about it on my blog as well. I also agree that Canada has it better to call it “Pride Week” instead of slapping the label “Gay” on it, which seems to make far too many of so-called open-minded Americans nervous, if not uncomfortable

  148. @Dawn – most people I know call it Pride Week – but I live very close to San Francisco, so that could be a factor.
    My coworker was invited to a special ceremony by the Mayor of Oakland, as well as her D.C. Congressional rep – her marriage certificate is signed by them! It was a special moment for her. So wonderful!
    Now I can knit her some wonderful socks.
    The Painted Tiger superwash rainbow yarn is quite fabulous, I have it in worsted.

  151. oops. Forgot to add that Lorna’s Laces Rainbow is GREAT FUN to knit up and for the….more mature of us who knit, it closely resembles the first of what we called ‘variegated’ yarns. Back in the day…

  152. Thank you so much for this post, Stephanie. Reading all the supportive comments from other knitters brought tears to my eyes, and I sent it on to my sweetheart (not a knitter) so she could feel the love too.

  153. Thank you for that post.
    Know what I saw last night at the theatre? A bio in which one of the chorus thanked his “handsome fiancé”.
    Times really are changing, and thank the gods for it!

  155. Don’t forget the rainbow colorways of Noro sock yarn! My DH bought me some….I should cast on for his socks this week.
    Love the Paul Newman quote, that’s exactly how I feel.

  156. I remember an elderly friend once chuckling as she told me, “The older I get, the less I care about who does what with whom.” What mattered was whether we treat each other with love and respect.

  158. What lovely comments, they all made me smile!
    I missed knit group (with a built in baby shower) yesterday because I just couldn’t part with Pride Sunday.
    Y’know…….. Pride is for everyone, glbt/q and those who love and support! So, Happy Pride!

  159. What a nice surprise! Go to my favorite knitting blog and find support for my gay son. thank you!

  160. NYC had its parade in NYC yesterday, then a big street fair and fireworks. It’s a block away from my house so DH and I went to the block party even though we aren’t LGBT. A humongous amount of rain came down and everyone huddled under the street fair tents singing. Very wonderful.

  161. my favorite quote is from whoppi goldberg
    “if you don’t believe in gay marriage, then don’t marry a gay person.”

  162. Thank you.
    I hope that Rachael is wrong about the California law being revoked in November. I hope that with all my heart.

  163. On behalf of my son, I thank you. I wish everyone could see gays as people who just want the same things everyone else wants.

  164. If I haven’t mentioned it in the last 7 1/2 minutes or so, you rock, verily and utterly. Happy Pride Week. And, uh, back away from the BMFA Pride, because it’s mine. No really, I need it. Lots of it. Don’t ask me how much.
    To Rachael: I don’t know how much help two people can provide, but I can tell you that in exactly five weeks from this very moment, my husband and I will be staggering out of the airport in San Jose after a long flight from New York City. Somewhere between checking out of our spooky hotel in Fremont and moving in to wherever we’ll be moving into, we will be registering to vote, and, come November, we will stand absolutely with you and Lala and your friends and neighbors. If the rest of the voters want to roll back your right to marry, then they’re going to have to bleed a bit (figuratively) in the process.

  165. I am amazed and pleased to note (after reading all 163 previous comments) that only one had anything negative to say. I’m glad that we knitters as a group seem to be more open-minded and tolerant.
    we SHOULD rule the world.

  166. this was lovely. and rachael (“while it’s legal (before Californians take away that right in November….)”) – as another California voter i’ll be doing whatever i can to make sure that doesn’t happen! i have hope that it won’t. i knew it would make the ballot but i want to believe that our state isn’t so full of…what would make someone vote yes on that anyway?!! mazel tov, by the way.

  167. Living in SF, yesterday I tried to drop off my copy of Fancy Feet at the public library, only to find the whole of downtown completely stuffed with proud people. I could only be more proud if they managed not to block the book drop.

  168. So I see that you have “re-purposed” the cable pattern from the Juno sweater, which I knit as well…and although I haven’t been living in the sweater, I too, loved the cable on the collar. I believe I will steal from you the idea of stealing that cable…

  169. Since I would follow Paul Newman to the ends of the Earth just to hear him breathe, I have to say I love his quote! And I totally agree–infact, I love Gay people! I think Gay men are articulate,funny, smart, and in general very easy to be around. Lesbian woman make great bosses( I had one so I know) and again all the above adjectives and more.
    People who “preach” about it’s evils usually believe that dinasaurs and humans existed at the same time so…. shows what they know. I think homosexuality is genetic and present at birth and so is not a choice but just the way the cookie crumbles!
    I have an aquaintance whose son ,at age 2, cried unless he was dressed in pink and only wanted Barbie dolls. We all knew he was gay-my daughter loved to play dolls with him and still adores him at their now advanced age of 28. He helped pick out her prom dress and he was right on the money-she looked like a million bucks. Handy and smart.

  170. Thanks. I really appreciate reading a post like this from someone who is so huge in the fiber community.

  172. What a pleasant surprise to read your post, Stephanie. I didn’t think your coolness factor could get any higher, but it just did. Thank you for your support of “my family”. Great quotes, by the way.

  174. I so wanted Pride yarn this weekend! Alas, it was all sold out in San Francisco, so I celebrated with some non-knitting debauchery. (Flickr is not kind this morning–yikes!)
    Thank you for supporting this–Pride is a wonderful celebration, and I look forward to it so much. There’s nothing like the feeling of being surrounded by your community…and, oh yeah, the giant party!

  175. Hear, hear. The more love and compassion and tolerance in the world the better.

  177. Okay–Steph–if you want your summers to be longer, you and Toronto have to stop being so UNBELIEVABLY COOL!!! Well done–
    Amy Lane

  178. {{{{{{{{{{Steph}}}}}}}}}} <– virtual hugs. I love the quotes so much. I sent them on to a friend of my daughter’s who cannot seem to understand why his house is egged so much (alot of homophobia still hanging around in suburbia)
    I agree with WonderMike wholeheartedly…just when we thought you couldn’t get any more fabulous.

  179. Well said. What is truly amazing is how accepting the younger generation is—under 30 or so. It has been just a fact of life in their world from a very young age. I also applaud my generation….over 50 who have also come to a place of acceptance and the feeling of “what’s the big deal??” at least in the circles I run around in. Let’s start working on those others……

  181. I saw a comedian one time (I wish I could remember who it was so I could give them proper credit for their idea) that said:
    “Republicans get themselves all in an uproar about 2 issues more then anything else- homosexuals and abortions. Which just makes no sense. I mean, who has less abortions then gay people?”
    So true (and hilarious). The whole world could use less hate and more love in all it’s forms (which definitely includes gay parents too).

  183. Pride in Toronto is the best. You can be whoever you are and most people here don’t bat an eye. Plus, at the Pride Parade, they toss candy and gum into the crowds! Wish they’d toss some yarn.

  185. Awesome post! I was totally knitting at the parade in Chicago (and I saw Franklin!).
    For everyone else – Knitivity’s yarn is awesome! Everyone should get some.

  186. Thanks Stephanie! I marched on Sunday in the NYC Pride Parade in support of my gay son. This has been a family tradition since my son came out at age 15 eight years ago – and we all love this exuberant celebration of diversity and personal expression. Broiling sun followed by drenching thunderstorms did nothing to dampen our enthusiasm. Happy Pride!

  187. I love the quotes, they are so true. In the end does it really matter who we love? Or is it more important that we love at all? I really like the one from Paul Newman.

  188. Ok, that does it. You just lost me. I can no longer support someone who promotes homosexual lifestyles. Sorry hun. You just dropped off my blog AND my book list. Anyone want some Yarn Harlot books, cheap?

  189. I was raised by a closed, single-gay man. My Dad grew up in an era when a marriage really meant a lifetime commitment and a way to raise a family.
    He would have stuck with the first marriage if his wife had wanted to. He was married to my mother for 11 years and she chose to leave shortly after they had adopted their second child. And this is why I grew up with my Dad.
    After raising two adopted girls on his own, he eventually figured out that a family is what you make of it. He came out of the closet in my mid-twenties, but only because he finally met someone.
    Happy Pride Day.

  190. brave…good work stephanie. hopefully this post will encourage others who do not know about pride celebrations around the world to realize that it takes a variety of lifestyles to make an interesting world.

  191. Stephanie, you’re giong to have to talk to those nice people at Ravelry (I think you might have met them – Jess and erm, Casey, isn’t it??) about getting some buttons for your posts and comments. I keep wanting to click agree and love on all your blog posts and the comments!
    Great post. I have a lot of gay friends, but I don’t think of them as gay, just as friends, I don’t think to my self, “Oh I’m meeting some hetero friends and some gay friends later…”. Why someone’s sexuality should define them and subject them to any judgements by others is beyond me.
    And some great yarns to drool over too. 🙂

  192. Thank you Stephanie for being your usual outspoken, right on person!

  193. I never thought I’d be quoting Burt Bacharach (Shakespeare, Jane Austen sure) but here goes:
    “What the world needs now is love, sweet love
    It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
    What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
    No not just for some but for everyone.”

  194. Hey, Patricia – you’re going to give up all your Harlot books because she “supports homosexual lifestyles”?
    Hell, I’ll take ’em! Can I also go through all your music, books, movies and art? I guarantee most of what you have (all the secular stuff anyway) was created by people who are just fine with homosexuality, not to mention that quite a bit of the artistic world are ACTUALLY homosexual.
    ooooh, and while we’re at it, can I go through your clothes, furniture, home decor.. OH and your yarn! Do you have any hand-dyed yarn from indie dyers? Not to stereotype but most fashion, furniture, home decor designers I know or have seen on TV are part of the “family” (again, either in a supportive role or as actual players). Same goes for most indie dyers.
    As anti-gay support statements go, yours was one of the most ignorant I’ve seen. And that’s sayin’ something!
    Thanks and if you’d like to send me those books, you can find me at 5elementknitr.blogspot.com.

  197. Steph – Thank you. You Rock.
    Patricia – Good luck with the rest of your life, hon. Won’t be seein’ ya at the next Pride Potluck, then?
    Everyone Else – Thank you. Y’all Rock.

  199. I realize I’m sayin’ this to the choir, but I really, really wish someone would explain to me what the “homosexual lifestyle” is. (Though, apparently there are more than 1 of them.)
    Is it the lifestyle where we have jobs and pay taxes?
    Maybe it’s the lifestyle where we actually gain elected political office in our community and work to make the city a vibrant, healthy place for all its citizens to live (and raise kids)?
    Maybe it’s the one where we’re the doctor who operates on your child to save its life? Or the accountant who does your tax return every year? Or the lawyer who represents your teenage kid who’s wound up in court because s/he did something really stupid and got caught?
    Maybe the homosexual lifestyle is the one where we live in a rural area of the country? Or we live in a city?
    Or is it the one where we take vacations in Europe, or the one where we go camping on our vacations?
    Is it perhaps the one where 2 people who’ve been in a committed same-sex relationship for 20+ years live in a nice, well-maintained house in the burbs? Where they vote in municipal elections, volunteer for organizations in their community, make donations to United Way, and so on?
    Maybe it’s the one where we live in a small town, close to our aging parents, because they might need us one day to take them shopping or to the doctor?
    I could go on and on.

  200. 🙂 Great stuff.
    I’m with Rams. Pretty men wearing a small amount of leather, holding knitted goods, that’s what we want.
    (You guys be careful with John Barrowman, you hear? We need him back in one piece for the next season of Torchwood.)

  201. This isn’t the right spot but had to share – not only is your new book laugh out loud funny it makes me feel validated in my art/hobby/obsession. Just had to say as far as injuries – my beloved grandmother used to worry that if we left a needle on the couch it might go up our “rectum” if we sat on it. Not at all logical on retrospect but i remember worrying. (its the only thing i can remember her ever worrying about). thought your might get a laugh out of that on.

  202. Stephanie, exacty how many ways can you ROCK??? Thank you for this wonderful post.
    To 5elementknitr: Yee-freakin’-haw!

  203. I was an ally before my daughter came out as bisexual and before my niece came out as lesbian, but I appreciate hearing from other allies even more now. Thanks, Steph, and thank to almost all of the commentors.

  204. Yay Stephanie & Canada & most Harlot commentors. Those haters…sad & pathetic.

  205. You know I’m feelin’ the pride. We’re here, we’re queer and yes, we’re knitters!
    I have to say that it is something I struggle with to keep the “gay” out of Pride. For lesbians who don’t say “gay” it feels like it doesn’t include us enough. For trans folk, they want to be recognized and we went through a period of LGBT Pride being more previlant. Many of us have taken back the “queer” label and I think it’s more comfortable for me most of the time. But after 29 years of being “out” I’ve seen many cycles of how we call ourselves and how others percieve it.
    I’ve gotta say that making other people feel “comfortable” with my label seems a little nutty.
    But, thanks Steph for your acknowledgement and support as well as fun yarn choices!

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