iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

I am back on a sourdough hyperfocus and the test batches keep tasting better. Gonna try apple oatmeal flavors next

Today's batch, with a little bit of brown sugar and extra salt thrown in before proofing. Sprayed the top for more even browning. Slight fruity note, didn't need butter

Yesterday's batch. Replaced 125g of the bread flour with rye. Most even crumb I've had so far

AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

My friend made me a batch of kimchi I've been looking forward to for months. Opened it for a quick check and had a room of grown ass adults tell me it smelled like farts. Like, y'all. This is why kids cry telling their grandmas they can't bring food to school anymore. I ate a whole pint already

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

After 11 years, Alister has figured out that dad is also good for cold weather snuggles

Alister the big black cat snuggled on dad's lap and wrapped jn his big red cardigan

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Is there a name for when a game feels like you are a mouse in a maze? Like, I loved Lies of P and E33. But I was so much more immersed in exploring Dark Souls 1, because I wasn't constantly thinking 'This path hasn't ended yet, so I'm missing an item check on the other one'

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Guys remind me to put enough dry pasta on the shopping list next time this stuff is not easy

An attempt at homemade pasta dough. Could not get it to fully incorporate even after tag-team kneading for the better part of an hour

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Blasphemous was the hyperfocus of the week, as evidenced by how short my second scarf is at the point the first was finished 😅 Finished a True Guilt run thanks to spamming the 'no your hits don't count' spell

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

We have a new french horn player in the house and I am in awe at the resonance and intonation he's been able to get out of it on his first day having an instrument at home

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I've been looking at going back to work now that my youngest is in school and everything I have found that works for us pays less than the value we capture from me being available to make crock pot soup and knit scarves and do some light gardening 🫠

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Just had to explain to my child the concept of a computer room and that you had to physically be in that room if you wanted to do anything online, as someone who recorded mixtapes on cassette. My knees hurt.

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Sunday naps after a bowl of chicken noodle soup on a grey autumn day under a quilt just hit different

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I can't be the first person to do this but I can't find it anywhere. Crochet cast on for two color double knitting going through the second color? Any 🧶 people know about this?

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

We've got Swallowtail Butterfly babies in the garden!

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

This is officially the nicest scarf I have ever owned! It stretches quite a bit with the ribbing, but even unblocked it's longer than I am tall. This winter is looking up! 🧶 4x4 Scarf from Zanete Knits, in Phoenix Sunset colors

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Bingo Brawlers continues to be my favorite show. Been there from day 1, and it blows me away how much better Domo keeps making it! Huge props to the players this season!

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

My turn for a harvest photo! Note that I did not plant any pumpkins 😂

Photo of produce from my garden, featuring 11 pumpkins, 3 butternut squash, 3 tomatoes, a couple peppers and beets, an acorn squash, and a zucchini

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Friendly reminder that credit card fraud tends to start with little expenses to see if a card's valid before the life-ruining stuff happens! Netflix did not, in fact, double charge me and now there are Consequences™

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Love that my kids who, like me, claimed to hate reading and bemoaned 20 minutes assigned nightly this year, have so far been tearing through chapter books and going beyond the timer and volunteering to read immediately after they get home

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Somebody has been extra snuggly since the small humans went back to school

Alister the black cat, about to headbutt the camera out of my hands to make room for more scritchies

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Got my brassicas transplanted and now I need to go sit in a freezer 🫠 I started 3x as much broccoli as cauliflower and ended up with 4 of each, so I assume it simply hates me. At least the kohlrabi, cabbage, and brussels sprouts did okay!

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Everytime I get worn down thinking about all the work it will take to make things better, I get a little bit hopeful remembering there are things we can do to make things better.

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Reposted by AlyAndTheCats

Chaucer Doth Tweet @levostregc.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

It ys a tryinge tyme. My greatest wisshe ys that todaye you may fynde sum suprisinge moment of peace, delight, mirthe, pleasure, discoverye, connectioun, or fascinacioun that doth make you feele just a litel bettir, that doth helpe you thrugh. Ich wisshe thys for thee wyth every bit of myne hearte.

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Started my sunset project over! Pivoted to the Star blanket. Made it through setup and repeat 1 today. Looking forward to seeing how it looks with the gradient of yarns I picked!

First progress pic of the day, using the Peach Bellini yarn I had planned for a sunset themed shawl

Finished repeat 1 of the 6 Day Star Blanket

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Hyperfocuses of the Week: Fields of Mistria full release and experimenting with fun washcloths

Variations on corner to corner knit washcloths in pink, blue, and yellow variegated cotton yarn

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Turns out splitting your irises is a thing and now I have almost a hundred from what I thought was four plants. I learn something new every day now that I live where things grow. Time to find these fellas new friends to go home with!

What the irises looked like in the spring. Pink and cream tops with maroon falls.

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

One of my degrees is in Data Analytics. I've coded neural networks. I know some of the math behind these algorithms. I was there when they were still trying to figure out how to guess how depressed you were from the words you type. I am dumbfounded at the faith people put in AIs.

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Can't get over what a perfect match this flower crown was for my hat!

Flower crown on top of crocheted sun hat at the PA Ren Faire. The hat worked - I'm just very flushed from the heat, not burnt

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Finished in time! Fun to wear a me-made outfit to the faire!

Crocheted sun hat, hand sewn tunic, and machine-sewn self-drafted skirt

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Shoutout to the nurse trying to suppress the visible panic when my 5yo walked into the office without any vaccines on record while planning to go to public school this month (they just didn't transfer correctly and we even left with a covid shot)

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Not a bad place to stop, since my replacement hook won't be here before ren faire. Crochet sunhat, made with Aunt Lydia's thread 🧶 on 2.0mm hook!

Top view of finished sunhat in natural cotton. Stacked increases on brims radiating like sunbeams, mesh side panel

Hat in situ. Curls up a little bit more on the brim than I'd like but the wire definitely stopped flopping problems. Wide enough to cover my neck, so hopefully fewer sunburns going forward!

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Well that's a new one. Glad I had a Clover on order. Got this KnitPro before I learned about their AI use and it has been a nightmare to use the whole time. Spun in the grip, slipping out, and now it *snaps*

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Pls send good vibes, we decided to install the replacement ceiling fan at 8:30pm

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Perks of planting things in the garden that we actually eat is having remarkably few harvests I have to worry about using up. The latest cucumber didn't even make it five minutes!

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Traced all the smaller pattern pieces. Big parts were too big for the tracing paper, so just going to work around the pattern. Got the interfacing cut. Now to mark up the good fabric 😬

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Ta-da! Fairy princess witch hat complete!

Pink, white, purple, and yellow silky soft yarn held with pink coboo yarn for a 90% rayon and 10% cotton hat. Long tail as a tassel out the top per user request. Also made with 6.5mm hook

Detail shot of the five strand marling. Crochet with pastel pinks, purple, yellow, and white

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

I have 9 more days to finish my sun hat, lace a swiss waist, and also prep, cut, and sew a tunic from pattern so of course I started a five-stranded princess witch hat and played games today

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

At the point on my sunhat where each row takes 90 minutes and is still only 4.5mm tall 🙃

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Bam! Wizard hat! Nice chunky yarn break between other ren faire projects

Red and black cotton yarn held together, worked with a 6.5mm hook, picot edge. Didn't bother to stagger increases, so more polygon than circle

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Every watermelon is personal size if you're not a coward

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

I have been wanting this exact thing for about 8 years and I have been giggling over it all morning 🥳 Best birthday present ever!

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

The garden flowers are really shining while everything else is getting reset. This specific batch of nasturtiums are still my favorite!

Variegated nasturtiums. Cream colored petals, with a splash of vibrant orange in the center of evh pegal. Some flowers are starting to get a red blush around the edges

Maroon/purple dahlia starting to bloom in the one patch I actually planted ornamental flowers in and is now mostly mystery volunteer tomatoes

One of the many, many marigolds that started popping up months after I broadcast two packets and thought they all died

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

I think I like our new pediatrician. Memorized an info dump on train horn meanings, sent us home with diagnostic forms to fill out this fall instead of referring to thousands of dollars of discredited programs, and we got a cool book for showing up. And I didn't have any wait time to crochet at all!

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Managed to avoid most Lies of P spoilers until I finally beat my first playthrough! Time to mainline lore now

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Having a tolerable time growing my first vegetable garden. Knowing when to harvest, on the other hand...

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

I know it is far from the worst this regime has done, but reinvesting in weather science might be one of the things I am most looking forward to. My forecast has about a 30 minute accuracy when it used to be at least a few days and this has real impacts on safety and food security beyond convenience

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

THE BRIM IS BRIMMING! Just... like 20cm more to go 😅 Also new tension ring making me feel like a dinosaur while I *don't* friction cut myself with this thread

Progress on beige sunhat, with about 3cm of brim complete. Constructed top down with double crochet in joined rounds (a huge personal milestone that they don't accidentally inc/dec) and dc mesh on the straight side section.

I printed a tension ring on MakerLab out of clear TPU instead of PLA and the flexibility has been just what I needed. No more tape and bandaids, but now I need to stop for stretch breaks instead of tension changes. Also pictured is the crochet thread and 2.0mm hook I'm making this hat with

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

My tomatoes are taking forever but this mini pumpkin variety from last year's compost was ready to go 😂

Palm-sized pumpkin, bright orange. Grew from a decorative pumpkin that was left to compost last winter

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Got Dredge on sale. I enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as my 9yo. Goes 'ghost ship hunting', spamming the fog horn as much as possible directly in front of the horrors. For fun. I think this child would love Subnautica

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Tendons need a yarn break, so I've been working on resetting some of my garden and starting brassicas for the fall. Finally got a seed starting setup going in one of the rooms with a working door latch (century old house problems) so the cats stop eating my babies 😅

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AlyAndTheCats @alyandthecats.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

I had a carrot harvest! Not too bad with squirrels editing my spacing last minute. Looking forward to round two!

Red, orange, white, and purple carrots. A little on the slim side on average, but reached a decent depth. One very tiny guy that missed the thinning stage featured on the left.

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