It’s June!!! That feels nice to say. June is my favorite month mostly because it feels like the start of summer, it’s Pride month, and my birthday is June 2nd. My birthday is like my own personal new year celebration. That’s a lot to love in a month. I’ve got loads of fun things (and surprises) for you this month so let’s dive right in.
JUNE EVENTS
I hope to see many of you this summer. Here’s some exciting upcoming public events happening this month.
IN PERSON
Portland, Maine - June 10 + 11th
Craftivism 101 at Handiwork Studio / 10:30 - 12:30am
Stitching Circle at Handiwork Studio / 1:30 - 3:30pm
Pride Community Project at Equality Community Center / 10am - 1pm
Nashua, NH - June 15th
Pride Community Stitch-Up at Nashua Public Library / 5:30 - 7pm
Newburyport, MA - June 17th
Intro to Embroidery at the PEG Center for Art and Activism / 2-4pm
Weymouth, MA - June 22nd
Boston, MA - June 24th
Craftivism 101 - Pride Edition at West End Branch of the Boston Public Library / 12-2pm
ONLINE
Creating Pride: Craftivism 101 / Zoom / Regina Public Library / June 7th
Pride Craftivism / Zoom / Des Plaines Public Library / June 13th
RADICAL ACTS ART SHOW - NEWBURYPORT, MA
For those of you anywhere near Massachusetts, it is your luck day. For all of June, Radical Acts, will be on display at the PEG Center for Art and Activism. This show is comprised of my personal work, Rita’s Quilt, and Badass Herstory! See it all at once.
The reception will be held on June 17th from 6-8pm if you want to party in person.
Huge shout out to the amazing Mindy Tsonas Choi who showed up and helped me install this beast of a show. She is a master of grids and patient af.
CRAFTIVISM GRANT UPDATE + ASK
Remember how I gave out two grants this year because there was a young person who inspired me so much I couldn’t say no? Well, it’s update time. Alana is a middle schooler who lives in Alaska and pitched the idea of making and selling custom pride stickers to raise funds for a local non-profit. This would be part of a school project that they were working on all semester. Once they completed the project, we would work together to grow it.
What happened:
Their mom loaned them $100 to produce the first batch of stickers.
They sold the heck out of them.
They repaid the loan and were able to donate hundreds of dollars to a local non-profit.
They completed their school assignment and now they are at SPACE CAMP.
What now:
We have been strategizing and they are ready to level up their sticker fundraiser campaign. First, by buying more inventory. Second, by selling their stickers on my website for the world to buy. Third, donating all profits to local LGBTQ+ organizations.
The ask:
If you have a few dollars to invest in a young Alaskan craftivist, we are hoping to raise enough to buy the next round of stickers so that they can continue their fundraising entrepreneurial adventure. If you can, chuck a few dollars into my Venmo for Alana. Every penny goes to purchasing inventory. No better way to celebrate Pride Month if you ask me!
What’s next:
Once we have funding, we will purchase stickers (and maybe pins) which will be for sale via Alana and on my website with all proceeds going to support LGBTQ+ organizations.
It has been such a delight working with Alana. What a special young person!
SPEAKING OF STICKERS
My Celebrate Queer Joy Stickers are ON SALE for PRIDE MONTH!
4” x 4” stickers pack a punch. $2.50 through June.
FREE PATTERN FOR YOU
I like to assign homework during Pride Month and the reward is a delightful pattern for you.
The Homework:
If you are not familiar with the Lavender Scare or Lavender Menace, get googling!
The Reward:
This fun lavender pattern. Download it here.
It’s lavender so obviously the traditional color palette would be lavender and green. I gayed it up with rainbow colors. You do you!
The petals would look lovely using satin stitch, detached chain, long and short, or even french knots. I used stem stitch for the stems. Satin for the petals, leaves, and ribbon.
You know I don’t like to tell anyone what to do so, make it your own.
And never forget, if you join my Patreon, you have access to over 50 different stitch tutorial lessons. If you want to challenge yourself, join us there! And your small monthly investment ensures I can continue to do all of this work. It is pride AND my birthday month after all. (wink wink)
STRONGER AND SAFER PRIDE EVENTS
My friends at the Western State Center are at again. They just released a new resource for folks who are feeling uneasy about Pride celebrations in the current climate.
You can download their Protecting Pride Guide here.
RANDOM STUFF
The next sampler for the #YearOfStitch drops in a week. It’s a perfect time to jump in and try on some new stitches! Join here.
I finished up my Teaching Artist work at the ICA Boston and it ended with a glorious exhibition for family and friends of the young people. I will miss them dearly.
I had the pleasure of leading an all-day, art, drop-in experience at the ICA Boston last weekend. Hundreds of families came through and made some epic works of art! We focused on the power we hold to create.
If you have never been to the Boston Tea Party Museum, it was a surprising delight! There are talented actors, holograms, and living paintings. PLUS, you get to throw a box of tea into the ocean from one of the ships!!!! Obviously, this is a must see for folks visiting Boston.
If you are looking to plan the nerdiest trip ever (who isn’t?!) Head to Boston on December 16th for the 250th Anniversary of the Tea Party which will include…wait for it…a full reenactment! Here’s the details so you can get planning.
Trust me that I just chucked a box of tea into the harbor (and then pulled it up again so the next child could go).
Lastly, I think it is vital that you know this. On my birthday, I went to the classic arcade that I grew up going to. I played a million games of Skeeball and then…I SET THE HIGH SCORE ON PIXEL CHASERS!!!! It was my first time setting a high score in an arcade and I feel quite pleased with myself. It also came with like 10,000 tickets which I used to get an archery set and collapsable frisbee. What a day!
I hope to see you at something this month. Happy Pride Month!!!
xo
Shannon