iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

This passage is going to live in my brain for a long, long time. From Gender Uphoria by Yvette Pike (eroticoffee.itch.io/gender-uphoria), talking about a trans character with autism.

A screenshot of an ebook which reads: Think about masking. Elijah is autistic, which I’m sure you know, but he’s been giving a set of rules by his parents about how to act like the allistic they wanted to have. After two decades of that, he’s now able to run a virtual machine of cis-allo normalcy, which is slower and less efficient than using his hardware like it should be used with the default operating system. But he’s been doing it so long, if the VM crashes, he’s thrust into an OS that he has no experience with, so he won’t be using it right and it will stress him out.

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Reposted by Merrilee

Anni Jyn @annijyn.com · 11/09/2025

the world is falling apart and we are hurling through time and space, just make the weird art

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

Ngl, when I got the notification that you can save posts on Blusky this account was the first thing I thought of.

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

I have been #spinning this giant, complicated spinning project for over a year and I'm down to less than 50g of #fibre left to spin. I am so. very. happy. to be almost finished. The fibre is Australian Tarndwarncoort Polwarth, both dyed fibre from Waratah Fibres and natural coloured from Tarndie.

A close up photo of a white plastic bobbin on a black electric spinning wheel. The bobbin is three quarters full of a very fine and evenly wound singles, mostly in shades of blue and chocolate brown, with a hint of hot pink.

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

I have started #knitting during face-to-screen training at work and not a single person walking past has commented on it. I feel like I've unlocked a cheat code or something.

A pair of half knit mittens in mauve, teal and brown striped yarn, still on needles with a messy trail of yarn leading to a ball. It's nestled between a computer keyboard, some pens, a notebook and a mug with the intimidating close up face of a cat.

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Reposted by Merrilee

Elliott Gish @elliottgish.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

You've got points to redeem. A billionaire bought an ocean. There's a wildfire. There's a mass shooting. This picture book is illegal. Public services are going going gone. Here's a dead child. Here's a dog eating fruit. Here's a person being thrown into an unmarked van. You've got points to redeem.

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

This is my morning retreat during the cooler months. Starting the day by sitting in the sun and spinning yarn. I love it.

A photo of a sun filled room, with couches and recliners covered in colourful quilts and blankets. There's an electric spinning wheel of top of a craft cart stuffed full of bags of fibre. Decals on the windows, where the sun pours in, cast rainbows on the cream coloured walls. There's a bookcase with books, paintings and framed embroidery.

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

Step 1.5 is apparently quality assurance. Jasmine loves alpaca. So much. Here she is testing the softness, squishiness and... taste of this pile of floof. #handspinning #catsofblusky

An adorable orange tabby cat with big green eyes, sitting on top of a pile of fluffy blue fibre for spinning into yarn. She's looking straight into the camera with an expression of pure innocence. The sun is pouring in a window behind her.

The adorable orange tabby cat now has her face buried in the blue fibre and appears to be savouring it. And she is. But by taste.

The adorable orange tabby cat is now sprawled amongst the blue fiber. She has one paw extended and a blissful expression on her face. There's a strand of blue fibre wrapped around her extended paw. She is one with the fibre.

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

Step 1 for this first spinning project is to predraft a rolag. I made these when I was first learning to use my blending board and I didn't know that you weren't meant to stuff the board full and then roll it into a single rolag. So these things are *massive* and difficult to spin as they are.

A giant pile of airy blue floof. It looks a bit like fairy floss. Yes, this is a single rolag predrafted. Don't @ me.

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

It's an exciting morning, the day I get my spinning wheel out for the year! I'm a cool season spinner and autumn has finally arrived. First up I'll be spinning these rolags I made years ago. They're mostly alpaca I dyed blue, with some white mohair locks and some brown wool, maybe Corriedale?

A big pile of misshapen, fat blue rolags with touches of white. They look like a pile of blue intestines. They're sitting on a grey foot stool next to a window with sun pouring in.

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Reposted by Merrilee

MFWitches @mfwitches.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

Question for AUSTRALIANS and NEW ZEALANDERS only: Would you travel to the United States while DJT is president, if you have the inclination or opportunity? Please reply to this post with your answer and we’ll tally the results and post them. And please like and re-post for greater poll reach.

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

You know what else is great at resisting fascism? Being inefficient. Farting around. Be a dancing animal.

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

My first contribution to #fluffybuttfriday is George the silkie. She's 8 and a half years old and loves berries, grain and afternoon naps. And also morning naps.

A close up of a silkie chicken butt. All you can see really is floof, ranging from dark grey to almost white. That booty is significant, but stately. What you can see of the background is dirt and tan bricks.

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

My partner and I have been reading @brittlestar.com's The Subtle art of Residence together. Last night we read the chapters on not wearing a collar and I didn't really get it. But I do now. "Collective transgenders"? Because they refuse to be subjugated? Good grief.

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

With all the Horrors I have been trying to think of how to make the world a better place. So I've made a Feed for #fluffybuttfriday. It captures the hashtag plus 'Fluffy Butt Friday'. Let me know if you want me to add any emojis or other tags. #dogsofblusky #catsofblusky #backyardchickens

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Reposted by Merrilee

Honoria 🍁 Valemon @honoriavalemon.bsky.social · 06/04/2025

I’m always amazed how few people seem to understand all of their clothes are sewn by a person somewhere, one at a time, on a sewing machine or serger.

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

I made a new friend this week. Meet Mable the Emotional Support Chicken. Knit entirely in handspun wool and stuffed with fill from an old pillow. 🧶🐔a

A rotund knitted chicken, pretty much a ball with a little perky tail and a head. Mostly brown with a few gold stripes, and bright red comb and wattled. Little beady black eyes. Sitting mostly side on to the camera in a green garden background. She looks super soft and squishable.

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

I don't like all y'all, but I'm giving you a pebble because you deserve it anyway.

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

The true prophet of our times, First Dog on the Moon, predicted the penguin uprising #penguintariff

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

The Heard Island Government responded remarkably fast. The McDonald Islands leaders are still getting Enrique the albatross to explain fractions to them for the third time. "Right, so whenever someone in the US gets a pebble from you they have to *also* give a tenth of a pebble to their government"

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

"What do we want!?" "A pebble!" "Damn it, Brian. We practiced this! Alright, from the top. What do we want!?" "... two pebbles?"

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

The residents of Heard Island will not stand for Trump's new tariff! Or waddle for it! Or scoot along on their bellies propelled by their little feetsies for it.

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

It me, when I "work through" my spinning fibre stash... By spinning it into yarn and adding it to my yarn stash.

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

I can't read about Cybertruck failures without thinking about this classic: youtu.be/3m5qxZm_JqM?...

youtu.be

Clarke and Dawe - The Front Fell Off

YouTube video by ClarkeAndDawe

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

I have never played D&D but now I feel I need to, just to try to shear a sheep dragon.

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

No cheating post the last photo of pet #catsky

A large, brown and tan fluffy cat laying on a green sofa, with green eyes and a condescending expression. Over her shoulder is a tacky cushion with a tapestry white Persian cat with a humanoid body dressed as a queen.

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

I legit read this book title as The Tempe Rapture and upon reading the blurb was sad that it wasn't a story about the Second Coming starting in western Sydney. #booksky #locallibrary

A close up photo of the book 'The Temperature' by Katerina Gibson. The title is in big yellow text and all lowercase, with the word temperature split over two lines so it reads the tempe rapture.

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

If I manage to have 1/10th of the integrity of President Zelenskyy by the time I die, I'd be pretty chuffed. Easy to say from the safety of the other side of the world though. Integrity must feel very abstract when bombs are falling on your house.

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

Loved this collection of stories. Some of them weren't great, but the good ones were amazing. I love the anarchist, anti-establishment themes that are in a lot of trans stories, and the tired hope. I guess if you can break down and rebuild your entire identity, why not break down the world?

app.thestorygraph.com

Review by soraetal - Avast!: Pirate Stories From Transgender Authors

Loved this! I didn't like a few of the stories, but the ones I did like were amazing. A great ...

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

I don't often laugh out loud while #reading but this gem from Tanya Huff's dysfunctional Greek pantheon short story did the trick. Hades: I can't go to the overworld, I have agoraphobia. Demeter: So stay out of the marketplace!

app.thestorygraph.com

February Thaw & Other Stories of Contemporary Fantasy by Tanya Huff

February Thaw and Other Tales of Contemporary Fantasy is the second e-collection by Tanya Huff an...

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

Current mood: diamond dotting 🖌️ to @themountaingoats.bsky.social with a caramel latte and wondering if this is the week my mother gets sectioned under the mental health act.

An awkwardly framed photo of a cheap diamond dot kit of cutesy cats, with drills in a tray and a pen thingy, plus a coffee cup. On a wooden slatted outdoor table, which is honestly the worst possible surface to diamond dot on, except for maybe an angry tiger.

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

Finding ways to resist The Horrors while carrying for 3 people experiencing mental illness (one of which of myself) is challenging. But tonight I'm managing to spend time with some #trans voices.

A book titled 'Avast! Pirate stories from transgender authors', edited by Michael Earp and Alison Evans, sitting on a wood table behind a purple mood light.

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

Oofff. This volume was a hard one. Less political and more emotional, with lots of mayhem and death. Still a brilliant series.

app.thestorygraph.com

Review by soraetal - Saga, Vol. 9

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

I do! I like putting in requests for books. I get an email, pick up the book and then read it (or not, it's free!). Totally bypasses the decision paralysis of choosing what to read from the billions of books I have access to.

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

People 👏 aren't 👏 acronyms 👏

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Did you know lying on the floor can help you feel less #overwhelmed? Time for some floor time with Jasmine 🐱.

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Finished #reading After the End: Recent Apocalypses anthology Kinda meh. Skipped so many stories I almost feel like a fraud saying I read this book. ⭐⭐

goodreads.com

After the End: Recent Apocalypses

From the Sumerian epic of Gilgamesh to Norse prophecies…

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Merrilee @merrileemakes.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Having a crap brain day so bouncing between distractions. 1. Diamond art is super distracting and soothing in its repetitive and mindless nature. But I struggle with the ethics of it. It's plastic wrapped in plastic, and this cheap kit from AliExpress is stolen art from Erik Buikema/We Are Extinct

Diamond art sticker of a cute white cartoon cat sticking out of a pink and purple can labelled 'Catbells Soup'. A few dots have been placed, but this is still a work in progress. A tray of white dots is partly out of frame.

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