iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Mariana Flying Fox costume in progress.. turning out to be a good way to learn a little about sewing in boning! #Halloween #bat #handmade

A child lays on tan carpet. They are wearing brown pants and zip up hoodie. Outstretched arms frame brown fabric bat wings. The child's face is pixellated.

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I made.... something? Ha I enjoy seeing how textile artists on IG play with layers of fabric, so decided to try. This is just scraps from prior projects quilted with a random pattern and cut away to show layers. This could be so satisfying with some intentionality! #sewsky #quilt #craftsky #textile

A gray piece of fabric with wavy, vaguely mountain'y lines sewn over it in black thread

The "after" of the project shows the space between sewn lines cut out to reveal various layers of colorful fabric

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Most essential supply for back to school: reusable snack pouches! Thought I'd never find a use for that awful blue and orange striped polyester from a Mood Mystery Box, but I think it will work well for the linings. Couture snack bags? #backtoschool #sewing #memade #madewithmood

A set of 8 fabric snack pouches, each about 5x6", on a brown counter.

Two snack bags, one with the flap open to show the garish orange and blue lining.

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Got a call from the bone marrow registry last week that I've been matched with a leukemia patient. I signed up as a donor 20 years ago so it was quite the surprise! Sending a cheek swab to see if we're a deeper match. Register to donate at nmdp.org #savelives #stemcell #cancer

A white skinned hand holds a navy blue envelope that says "let's do this. Saving lives starts with a swab. Nmdp" there's a photo of two people hugging on the right side of the envelope.

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Last stop on the drive to #pearc26 : The Biggest Ball Of Twine in Minnesota! I know there are Weird Al fans at @pearcconference.bsky.social !

A window with a 7 foot tall ball of twine behind it. A sign at the top of the window said "worlds largest Twine ball"

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Stopped at Wall Drug on the road to #PEARC26!

A white woman with brown hair taking a selfie with a wooden carving of a smoking man in a white cowboy hat.

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Stopped at Wall Drug on the road to #PEARC26!

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

The road to #pearc26 includes Mount Rushmore!

A white woman taking a selfie in front of Mount Rushmore. She is wearing black sunglasses and a brown cowgirl hat

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

I just spent an hour meticulously unpicking a button hole that had accidentally caught another part of the garment. When I sewed the hole again, this is what my machine did 😭😭🤬🤬🤬🤬 #upcycle #sewing #hobbies #fashion

A burnt orange piece of fabric with white pin stripes sits on a sewing machine. The two sides of a button hole are out of alignment and will need to be redone

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Ms Tindra is starting to look like a real dress! I'm obsessed with the back 👀 Pattern is the #Fibremood Tindra. Fabric is a thrifted duvet cover. Buttons will be from the infamous Elfriede's in Boulder, when I get in the mood to deal with 11 button holes 😅 #sewing #upcycle

A burnt orange dress with wide-spaced white pin stripes hangs on a dress form. It has a collar ans breast pockets. The rest of the visible room is a mess of sewing supplies.

Back of a burnt orange shirt dress. It has a gather at the waist that makes the skirt fitted and the shirt portion blousy. . The rest of the visible room is a mess of sewing supplies

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

It's National Sewing Machine day! Here's a photo of my gorgeous late-1950s all metal stamped machine. That turquoise! That chrome! That font! My Bernette just came back from being serviced (which took FOREVER) so i will quite happily be using her today 😁

A lovely 1950s sewing machine in turquoise, white, and chrome. It has fins on the top line a corvette, and the width and length knobs have a classic 1950s font.

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

We climbed Mount Blue Sky today! Kids' first time above 14,000 ft! Obvs had to be posted here ☺️ #bluesky #Colorado #kids #summer #14er

A family of white people, including two young kids, smile at the top of a mountain

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Quite happy with how the pink flatlock hem breaks up the intensity of the black and white print on these shorts! Fabric is from my local thrift store, shorts are self drafted based on my favorite pj shorts. #sewing #upcycle #MeMade #fashion

A white pair of shorts with a black grid pattern that almost looks like looking closely at a screen shot has a bright pink ladder pattern at the hem. The shorts are held up by a white person's hand and a sewing machine is visible in the background.

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Why give your #26grads an inspiring but ultimately useless book written by a dead, racist, white guy when you could give them an actionable book by someone who actively works to promote diversity every day? bookshop.org/a/103170/979... #graduation #gifts #inspo #BookSky #BookTok #ImposterSyndrome

An infographic comparing the book My Monster Mungo to Oh the Places You'll Go. In the column for My Monster Mungo are listed: Inspiring message.
Cute illustrations.
Written by a white woman who actively works each day to advocate for diversity and anti-racism.
Author has a doctorate in Interdisciplinary Leadership Studies.
Gives readers actionable, research-based intel that will help them get to the places they want to go.

In the column for Oh the Places:
Inspiring message.
Written by a dead white guy with a track record of creating racist imagery.
Author called himself “Dr.” but had no qualifications.
No actionable information provided.
Cute illustrations.

The bottom of the image features text that says, "Get your copy of My Monster Mungo from Amazon or Bookshop.org!"

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

Look at this stunning machine!! I found her at our annual neighborhood yard sale! She works beautifully, too 😍 Definitely a uni-tasker though- she only does zigzag stitches. #sewsky #antiques #retro

A teal, white, and chrome 1950s sewing machine.

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Congratulations! You have unlocked the sewing achievement "Blood, Sweat, and Tears"! This is granted when you slice a finger with the rotary cutter for the first time. Achievement grants +1 dexterity and +3 vigilance. #sewsky #rpg #crafting

A white person's left hand with their thumb sticking up. The thumb has a bright yellow and pink bandage. In the background is a black and white patterned fabric sitting on a cutting mat with a pattern piece, rotary cutter, and two pairs of scissors on top.

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Kiddo has been looking for the egg hidden in the towel at his knees for half an hour 🤣 I do love the egg hunt! #Easter #easteregg #spring #parenting

A small child in pajamas kneels on a black stool in front of a stove top. Two towels hang fun the oven door handle. One is orange, the other black. The black towel hangs between the child's knees.

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

I mean.. this shirt was only a couple years ago...

A folded black shirt says "nice rack" and shows the inside of a computer track. Before the rack is www.atipa.com, HPC and AI system integrator

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

Spent my flight on the way to the @acs.org Spring Meeting embroidering my purse handle because I realized last night that it was ratty. I'll be the one sewing during sessions ☺️ #acs #Atlanta #memade

A gray canvas wristlet sits on a wood desk. It's handle has basic color blocked embroidery to cover up the icky old gray

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

I just finished my Sanna! And have plans to make at least one more. Definitely going to make one of those t-shirts as well 😄

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

Finished the shirt! All that pinning for the pattern matching was worth it 👌 I love the sleeve pleats! Next time I make the pattern I'll move that middle keyhole a bit to cover my bra strap. But the little patch is just fine. #sewing #memade #fibremood #sanna

A white woman stands in an office workspace. She is wearing jeans and a bold striped shirt. The stripes are blue, red, Grey, and gold. The shirt has a dropped shoulder and 3/4 length sleeve

The back of a woman standing with hand on her hips. Her shirt is covered with bold stripes that match perfectly across the keyhole details in the shirt.

An arm wearing a 3/4 sleeve shirt and teal watch. The shirt has bold stripes and a pleated detail mid-forearm that gives the shirt an interesting shape.

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

Who is this sewist and what has she done with my cavalier attitude toward pattern matching? #sewing #memade #FibreMood #Sanna

A stripey piece of fabric lays in front of a sewing machine. It has about 30 pins attaching it to the fabric on the other side

A shirt sleeve showing a variety of blue. Gold, and red lines that perfectly match up at the seam. Perfectly!

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Finally finished this shirt! It's a gorgeous Nani Iro double gauze with faint silver patterns printed across it. I used the polka dot edge at the hem of the shirt and the lattice print on the sleeves. Got it at the Portland Fashion Institute shop this summer as a souvenir. #sewing #memade

The short sleeve of a shirt. The fabric is light teal with splatters of dark teal and burnt orange. It has a faint silver pattern printed over it. The body of the shirt has a flower pattern and the sleeve has a lattice pattern.

The bottom hem of a shirt. The fabric is light teal with splatters of dark teal and burnt orange. It has a faint silver pattern printed over it. The body of the shirt has a flower pattern and the hem has a polka dot pattern.

A selfie of a white woman with brown hair wearing sunglasses. Her shirt is short sleeve with a v neck. The fabric is light teal with splatters of dark teal and burnt orange. It has a faint silver pattern printed over it.

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

Minecraft rice krispies for my kiddos birthday party. The red bricks don't look quite so meaty irl.. birthday kid added the drunk guy to the scene 😂

Rice krispie treats arranged on a platter. Chocolate with green frosting for grass blocks and a castle made of red blocks. Various Lego Minecraft characters are placed around the scene.

A sad faced Minecraft Warden character sits among rice krispie blocks

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

I'm not "that kind" of doctor. ..unless we're talking about stuffed animals. In that case I'm practically Doc McStuffins lately! #sewing #parenthood #Pokémon #repair

A stuffed TeddyUrsa Pokémon has a needle and thread attached to a repaired hole on his belly button.

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Marked out the first 20 "chapters" for my tandem read of @sarahjmaas.bsky.social 's Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn! It's a funny, different, way to read a couple books and I'm looking forward to it 😄

Two thick books sit on a coffee table. Each of the books has 10 sticky flags sticking out, to mark where to transition between the books. There's a pair of reading glasses, a pen, and the leftover stickies on top of the books. Other books and clutter are visible in the background.

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Did I run a linear regression on my marketing data? Yes, yes I did. 🤓 Is it actually useful? No, I don't believe it is. But it was fun to exercise my stats brain! #stats #marketing #entrepreneur #WomenInSTEM

A scatterplot shows cost per lead for the last week. A negative sloped dashed red line goes through the data, but the plots are not really close to the line.. so it's value for data prediction is likely limited.

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

If you don't end up unpicking have you really learned anything? 😅 #sewing #garmentSewing

A tall piece of fabric sits on carpet in a shaft of light. A portion is detached, with a stitch picker next to it.

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

Yesterday's airplane sashiko. I'm really happy with how it turned out! #sewing #upcycle #sashiko #embroidery #textileart

An army green jacket sits on my lap. Pink and white stitching is visible. On the sleeve is a triangle made up of simple flowers.

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

Just hit 10k steps in one day for the first time since breaking my ankle!! An auspicious start to the new year?

A smart watch on a white woman's wrist displaying a time of 11:17pm and 10,085 steps

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 25/12/2025

Little bit of airplane sashiko 🧵🪡 Brought this jacket on our trip so I can fancy it up a little bit. Got more done on the plane than I expected! #sewing #embroidery #upcycle

The back of an army green jacket, decorated with straight stitched wavy pattern in pink thread. On top of the jacket is a bright pink bit of thread on a board that says saahiko. A needle is stuck into the thread.

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

Shoutout to the guy at our local Freddy's who is scooping so fast it's like watching a cardio workout! #FrozenCustard #icecream #FASTfood #PTAfundraiser

A Freddy's frozen custard bag sits on a red counter. In the background a guy in a black shirt, blue jeans, and black ball cap leans over a serving station

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

A peplum! It's only basted on at this point and a couple spots need adjusting, but I'm quite happy with how it's coming along! #sewsky #upcycle

The back of a jacket with a high-low peplum. The jacket is gray with barely visible pinstripes, and is hanging on a dress form.

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

Finally had some time to work on this guy again today! Used the jacket's arm fabric to piece together the peplum. It's looking like an actual circle now! Will sew it together and attach tomorrow 😁 #sewsky #upcycle #couture

A circle of gray fabric laid on tan carpet. There are ripples in the fabric where the pleats will be located later.

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

Kids were so helpful making apple pie this morning! And it turned out gorgeous. Now how to resist eating it until after the main event..? #pie #baking #Thanksgiving #FoodArt

Overhead photo of an apple pie. 1/4 of the top has been made into a lattice. Opposite the lattice is a star. The whole top has been dusted with cinnamon sugar.

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

⛰️ Overcompensating: overworking yourself in order to prove, again and again, that you are worthy of the attention and achievements you seek ⏰ Procrastinating: Waiting until the last minute to get your work done, to build your visibility, to put in for the promotion or pay increase… 🧵

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

Are you feeling like you're not good enough, you only got here by luck, or that “they” are going to figure out you're a phony and take it all away? Do you find yourself doing any of these things in order to avoid those feelings? Check it out: thrivingibis.thrivecart.com/from-saboteu... 🧵

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

This just may be the best #sc25 swag I've ever gotten! #stl #food #conference

A hand with white skin holds two boxes of Kraft macaroni and cheese.

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

Wise words from @giulsguidi.bsky.social while talking about her career story at the #SC25 @womeninhpc.org workshop: "Your path keeps evolving as you meet the right people" and "if in doubt, yet a dog. Or two." ❤️🦮

Giulia Guidi speaking at the Women in HPC workshop at SC25.

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

Great advice from @verolero86.bsky.social at the @womeninhpc.org workshop! Keep track of the things you say no to, to keep encouraging yourself to prioritize what is most important in your life. #sc25 #hpc

Veronica Melissa Vergara behind a podium at the women in hpc workshop at sc25. A brightly colored slide beside her reads "big science, big impact"

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

Ok staying in historic St. Louis is pretty cool.. there's cobblestone everywhere and all the buildings are lovely red brick ☺️ And! A cute locally owned grocery and Korean fried chicken. #hpc #sc25

A cobblestone street with red brick buildings on either side

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 15/11/2025

The kids moved a pumpkin into the backyard because they were worried about the squirrels not having enough to eat. ..this little guy looked quite happy about their gift today 😂

A brown squirrel is biting into an orange pumpkin. The pumpkin is sitting at the edge of a patio in a yard that is covered in yellow Aspen leaves.

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

I'm happy to be offering FREE 30 minute coaching sessions at #SC25. Having a career dilemma? Leadership challenge? Conflict at work? Existential drama? I'll be a sounding board to process through whatever you have going on! DM for the reg link - I'll see you in St. Louis! #HPC #Supercomputing

A yellow background with Dr. AJ Lauer, a white woman with brown hair who stands confidently. The text reads "Dr. AJ Lauer in MGM's Meet Me In St. Louis @ SC25. Schedule your FREE 30 minute coaching session at the conference"

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Sewed in all the darts on the bodice and started working on the pleats and peplum skirt! Starting to be able to see where I'm headed 😄 Tails will be shorter eventually. Halloween fabric for modesty, but I actually like how it looks..! #sewsky #sewing #upcycle #thriftstorefinds #fashion #plaid

A suit vest with striking pleats pinned at the front. A black and white Halloween fabric is tucked into the front

Back of a suit jacket vest with a dramatic pleat on the tail. The tail will be shorter later!

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

Have decided to turn this $8 thrift store suit jacket into a vest with a peplum. The destruction phase is fun so far! #sewing #upcycling #fashion #madetomeasure

A gray men's suit jacket hangs on a dress form.

The suits arms have been cut off and the Jacket is cropped! This is a back view of the jacket. Tailors marks are visible on the shoulders.

The jacket is inside out on the dress form, with the lining pulled up around the collar. The jackets interfacing and shoulder pads are visible. It's a mess!

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

One of my favorite things about parenting is the random little stuff the kids leave around the house ❤️ #parenting #love #art #graffiti #lovenotes #kids

A child has drawn a lopsided heart in a steamy mirror. Inside the heart they wrote "love"

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AJ Lauer @ayjaylauer.bsky.social · 01/11/2025

And I'm really happy with how the Tulin costume came out! He got a lot of "aw cute!" reactions. These Zelda costumes were no joke, but i learned a lot and the kids loved them, so overall a success 👍🏻 #sewsky #Halloween #cosplay

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