The women in my family were all textile makers. One grandmother was a quilt maker, another did knitting and macramé, and my mother knits and sews. I grew up watching these processes but wasn’t allowed to participate because it wasn't seen as something boys did. I came out at 19, and the women in my family were very supportive despite being Catholic. They embraced me learning these skills. My grandmother would send me textile patterns, even though I wanted to make art objects rather than functional pieces like curtains and blankets.