We’re very lucky here at Stolen Stitches.

We get to have Woman’s Day every day of the week!

In an ideal world, this day wouldn’t be needed.

There would be equality for all.

However, we’re not there yet and so this day is important to draw attention to inequalities in relation to gender. A huge imbalance can happen when children are born, with heavy burdens and decisions frequently falling on mothers and those taking on traditional maternal roles.

Some workplaces can make finding a work-life balance difficult and some next to impossible with small children. There are so many demands on your time. And children, as you know, are unpredictable. Flexible work schedules and sharing in childcare allow us all to have a more satisfying balance.

Many of us would like to be working but also want to be present and see our children! Gasp – the thought that you might want both a career AND to be a parent without one causing you to step back from the other?

Shocking.

When Stolen Stitches began, it was actually to create this balance for myself. My original career as an engineer did not work well (at the time) part-time. In fact, the only roles that fitted in part-time were boring and repetitive with nothing to capture my imagination. Working for myself allowed my business to grow slowly as my children grew up.

When they were little, I only created digital patterns, allowing me to work remotely on my own schedule. As they grew, I could travel to fibre shows and teaching events, allowing me to spread my knitting wings a little and find more of a balance as my children became more independent.

The most recent business change came when my youngest went to secondary school. I began selling yarn alongside my digital patterns. As you all now know, this has expanded into a very different business; encompassing clubs, subscriptions, education platforms, online community hubs and customer care.

But I didn’t do it alone.

Slowly the company’s employees has been growing. Three of us are now full time and four part-time. It’s become like a little knitting family, allowing everyone the flexibility to work on their own schedule with common goals.

My role as business owner has drastically changed over the years and I wanted adaptability for all my employees. I want everyone that works here to have the ability to find their own balance.

Work is important, fun and exciting, but it’s not our entire world.

This team of women creates my new work family now that my children are almost grown. My youngest will be 17 in a few weeks! Through all the rapid growth and change Stolen Stitches has seen over the last two years, this team of people have been pulling together to create not only the wonderful woolly experience you all have when you interact with us but also helping each other in their own personal goals.

Aside from yarn projects, our team has had gallery openings, written novels, created knitting patterns and helped one another with garden planning.

But,

Most importantly, I’ve watched this team have each other’s back when their individual roles get stressful during our busy periods. Reminding each other that it’s just wool and they aren’t on their own.

Need an edit, we got you.

Need an extra day off or half day from last week’s huge club order, we got you.

Need a welcome what’s app message because we know today is going to be hard for you – on it.

As women, it’s important for us to lean in and create the change we want to see in the world. By allowing Stolen Stitches to be seen as a work family and not ’employees’, everyone finds their own strength to build something far greater than I could have dreamt individually, which allows all of you to have unique and exciting experiences from us.

We couldn’t build what we do without you as our amazing community. I want you to know that what you are helping us build isn’t just another company, it’s a family that truly supports one another and continues to try to create change when we can.

While we shouldn’t need International Women’s Day, I’ll gladly take the day to celebrate these amazing women I work with every day.

I feel honored to work with you all and I can’t wait to see what we create next.