iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Extra dramatic sunset to start my last week at the lakeside. (And four kilogrammes of sloes. Crazy good foraging this year.)

Very dramatic cloudy sunset over fields and distant trees

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

I had no plums for two years. This year, All The Plums. And soon, All The Jam.

Shopping bag full of about six kilos of foraged wild plums, a few forages apples and an accidentally broken plum branch

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Plastics burn that way. This is a market hall full of mostly polyester clothing burning down in Poland two years ago, fire set by Russian sabotage: www.facebook.com/share/v/1Fx7...

Aerial view of Marywilska market hall burning down in a sea of fire and black smoke.

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

The package has been delivered, so here, look at my first properly blocked ombre crochet shawl! Pattern is Otsukimi by Natamota, yarn is Kokonki. All the mistakes are mine...

Blue and pink half-circle crochet shawl draped over a picture frame

Blue and pink half-circle crochet shawl draped over a balcony fencing

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Cats on gabapentin are amazingly chill. This dude got a legit panic attack that resulted in fever, he was so weirded out after a dental cleaning. Half a pill later, he chilled out instantly.

Tuxedo cat stretched out belly up on a reddish rug. The belly is only a trap in that he'll hold on to your wrist with his hind legs to keep you rubbing it longer.

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

Sounds like stealth is the brains! Though yeah, it can change. Nemo was no-look-at-cat for the first four months and now:

Black cat interrupting crochet. He is eating my fingers because I am not petting him hard enough.

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

And a yarn basket with a lid! Too many mornings I woke up to the flat being a yarn labyrinth when my lot were kittens, and just a couple weeks ago this gentleman tore up a ball of yarn from literally the other side of the planet (Aotearoa NZ possum, SO soft but easily split by kitty claws).

Tuxedo cat sprawled on a brick coloured rug. Lego Hokusai (38cm wide box) for scale, Percy is a Big Boy

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

Enjoying the first of spring sun, watching news about river thaw and thinking of how the traditional first day of spring Marzanna festivities (including drowning her in the thawing river) are on March 21. At least it was a proper winter and the rivers actually froze this year....

Tuxedo cat basking in the first spring sun on an apartment balcony.

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Madame Ichiro is like, trying to kill me with the poster of her next live. And yes, this is the 45th anniversary of her on stage presence - she started early. (Though it'll be 44 years since her debut in April, she's counting from the student recital.) Like, gender! natalie.mu/stage/galler...

Ichiro Maki standing in a long black dress and a tuxedo jacket plus a long chain od pearls, the picture of otokoyaku cool. At her side, a gilded mirror reflects her en femme, in a sequinned blue dress and long earrings.

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

Feminist festival (with speeches, choral performance and a one act play) in Lublin in 1925. @myalchod.bsky.social

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

When museums and Bluesky collide. @adapalmer.bsky.social the only copy of the printed Sforziad signed by the illuminator says hi! (Yes, I told people to look it up in Inventing The Renaissance.)

The history of the illustrious Sforza family (literally murderous bastards) open to a page with gorgeous illumination.

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

Oh look a pseudo Roman statue. Why is he wearing a crop top? Okay, sluttiest Roman emperor... Why does my brain say Hadrian? (It's Hadrian. No idea how my brain made the connection. Except the six months I spent basically living in the Louvre as a kid.)

Plaster cast of a derivative statue of Hadrian, apparently. Pałac Rzeczpospolitej, Warsaw, Poland.

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

See, this way you can admire Percy without being in danger of his seat stealing wiles.

Tuxedo cat on the seat of an armchair, surrounded by pillows and unwilling to relinquish his seat

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

Extra variations on the motto of The Wee Con by @amuseoffyre.bsky.social - KWZ Złota Kaczka golden ink and a spiky Textura blackletter from Mira Calligraphia Monumenta.

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

Very curious what KWZ Syrenka will look like in a fountain pen - it's freaking spectacular in dip pen.

Endlich Nacht kein Stern zu sehen, written in diamond Textura and sparkly teal ink

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

I had tegaderm just give up two hours after application on my wrist tattoo. My artist said to just apply saran wrap, chany every four hours during the day (sleeping through the night is fine) and gently wash and disinfect during changes (octenidine). It healed fine - that was two years ago.

Healed wrist tattoo OMNIA MUTANTUR NIHIL INTERIT

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

Warsaw can be awfully pretty sometimes. I remember when this bit was an industrial wasteland, now it's gone from Fallout to Star Trek.

Warsaw Spire skyscraper in Warsaw, Poland. Looking slightly futuristic and reflecting the blue sky.

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

New toy! Small Polish pen maker and visual artist Jan Smaga of Wiland Pens released a budget resin version of the already cheaper than his usual, ebonite Wiland Popularne, and I finally decided on a colour. (Not ruling out buying an ebonite version later because gorgeous colours too)

Cigar shaped Wiland fountain pen in deep indigo, closed and looking more like a cigar case than a pen

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

It's 26c in the middle of April. My aircon is disconnected because renovations. Current mood:

Mousesack the tabby cat sprawled on a blue duvet. He is very long, and his very long tail is curled into a circle.

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

The importance of having the right angles. Same cat, within 24 hours.

Black cat loafing, looking thin and pathetic.

Same black cat belly up, looking like the 8 kilo he is

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

Ooh finally found it - actual Mucha painting of a (post) battle scene, Grunwald: histmag.org/grafika/2021...

Alphonse Mucha, After the Battle of Grunwald - King Jagiełło standing over the corpses of Teutonic knights.

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 06/04/2025

I have managed to get through twenty years of musical fandom without hearing a single note of Wicked Act Two. This is no longer the case and yeah, proper live production of it is thrilling. Maria Tyszkiewicz absolutely killed it as Elphaba.

Pre-show projections for Wicked in Teatr Roma, plus auditorium

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 30/03/2025

Nemo is back from three weeks of weight loss retreat (aka living with my mum and her diabetic old lady cat who's also on a vet ordered diet), and he's under 8 kg finally. I didn't weigh him at his heaviest but that's at least a kilo less than his maximum. Steroids suck.

Happy black cat on a white blanket. He is very shiny.

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 30/03/2025

Cat grooming is less popular here and thanks to you I knew it existed and got my cat's butt shaved when he was having trouble grooming due to steroid weight gain. He's so much happier when clean!

Happy black semi long haired cat, still overweight but calorie counting and exercise are working!

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 22/03/2025

Those five minute watercolour tutorials are lies. Lies, I tell you. (7 hours on this onion in two sessions.)

Watercolour painting of a red onion. Needs a bit of gouache touchup because as usual I lost the highlights.

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

In contrast to Percy the hysteric, Mousesack has been pronounced perfectly healthy. And opinionated. He gave the vet a whole lecture!

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Percy had a tooth removed two days ago. Percy didn't come to feed last night or this morning, and I had to drag him out from under a bed. Percy has now been diagnosed with hysteria because there's Nothing Wrong With Him. (Apart from fever, which cats can get from being hysterical stressballs.)

Tuxedo cat looking perky and curious on a counter at the vet's. As opposed to the Ball of Woe he was at home. This was before any medication!

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

Honestly not bad for like my 8th watercolour work ever. First one from this course I feel happy posting. All pure watercolour too, no cheating with gouache or pencils!

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

Back to late medieval calligraphy. Holbein was just mentioned, resisting breaking out into Haus of Holbein...

Various words in Burgundian bastarda calligraphy

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

They are the standard issue cats. (Aka, felis silvestris really get around.)

Stripey cat half curled on a white and grey blanket, mid-meow

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 05/01/2025

In the other photo of the garage/outbuilding it looks like they used it to store a century old car? I think it must be this one since it's listed as only one of its kind still drivable: www.prewarcar.com/584766-1923-...

Medieval looking barn from the inside. Through the open door you can see a 1923 Daimler car in cobalt blue.

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

Mine (apartment balcony) has fencing loose enough for small birds. Thankfully no cases in Europe yet, I think my lot may revolt if I keep them from their birdwatching...

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

End of modern calligraphy course, finally starting to get the hang of it. Motto of Takarazuka Revue ✨

"Pure proper beautiful" in shaky modern script and KWZ All That Glitters sparkly ink

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

This is the dip pen stand I was using in calligraphy lessons yesterday. I deserve a medal for resisting the temptation to nick it. (I asked, unique item made by my teacher's friend, dammit.)

Oblique nib holder propped on a tiny ceramic stand that looks like a moss-covered stone wall with a raven sitting on the highest point.

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Beth Winter 🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 @bwinter.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

Dug up my most expensive fountain pen again - three months capped, writes like a dream. mallardshop.pl knows how to tune a nib too, on top of the wood and resin magic.

Capped fountain pen made from resin-stabilised burr maple with custom fittings that allow the cap to be screwed in to post securely

Same fountain pen posted and showing off its curves. It's so comfortable to write with!

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