Rachel | Stitches and String Theory
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stitch-theory.bsky.social
Rachel | Stitches and String Theory
@stitch-theory.bsky.social
630 followers 140 following 580 posts
she/her
Physics-inspired knitwear patterns. Anime and video game-inspired cross stitch patterns. Data scientist, physics PhD, crafter, gamer.
https://linktr.ee/stitchesandstringtheory
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stitch-theory.bsky.social
We're not asking. We're shutting it down. Mass blackout November 25th - December 2nd. The largest economic blackout protest in U.S. history begins November 25th! No work, no projects, no spending, no events, no restaurants, no restaurants. No backing out!!! Prepare for the impact! To prevent "spike spending" before and after the blackout, we ask that all participants purchase goods needed from community-owned stores and markets leading up to and after the dates. This helps with sustained impact and keeps our money out of the mega businesses' pockets. Coordinated national pushback. Maximum local impact
October 22, 2025 at 4:02 PM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
New book! Hoping it will inspire me and pull me out of the depressive rut I've been in

#Craftivism
A copy of the book "A Call to Needles: Acts of Craftivism and Crafted Kindness in the Age of Trump" by Dee Ann Eisner
September 20, 2025 at 4:57 PM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
@hankgreen.bsky.social really called it like two days ago, huh? I'm so angry and sad. How can we even try to push back against this sort of shit when nobody on the "left" in the Senate or House is doing *anything* to resist?
A tweet from the official U.S. Department of Energy Twitter account that says "Wind and solar energy infrastructure is essentially worthless when it is dark outside, and the wind is not blowing." There is a screenshot of Chris Wright, the Secretary of the DOE, with the caption "Wright backs Trump argument blaming renewables for rising electricity prices." The screenshot is labeled as coming from washingtonexaminer.com. Below the tweet, a community note reads "Batteries allow electricity to be stored and used at a different time than when it is generated." along with a link to the Wikipedia page for electric batteries.
September 7, 2025 at 4:12 AM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
I ordered a copy of Cherry Bones from @jameshoffmann.bsky.social and it's absolutely gorgeous. I hope more issues are made! And I hope I can continue to import them...

#Coffee
A large magazine in matte paper. The cover is abstract patterns in blue, red, yellow, and tan, and in places looks like torn thick paper. At the bottom in gold is the title "Cherry Bones" and a seal that reads "Cherry Bones Issue One" along an outer ring and "Estd. 2025" in the middle
August 29, 2025 at 4:15 PM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
Testing call finally up! Thrive will be my next charity knit-along pattern, raising money for the Transgender Law Center. I am hoping to start the knit-along Saturday, October 11, which is National Coming-Out Day

www.yarnpond.com/pattern_test...

#Knitting 🧶 #Craftivism #TestKnit
A picture of a white woman from behind. She is holding a triangular shawl against her back, hand knit in a rich gold yarn. The shawl is reverse stockinette, with a thick cable up the spine and thinner cables branching off to both sides
August 9, 2025 at 6:45 PM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
I learned yesterday that @hankgreen.bsky.social has a productivity app? As somebody who knits, has difficulty concentrating, and calls everything cute a "bean," I think this was literally made for me? Excited to see how Deep Focus mode is when it comes out -- it might replace Forest on my phone
A screenshot of a humanoid bean, arms in the air in excitement, holding a pair of knitting needles in one hand. Text reads "You want to help? Yay! When you put down your phone to focus, I can focus on my knitting." The whole thing has a cartoony, slightly crayon-drawn aesthetic
July 27, 2025 at 9:08 PM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
I've been coveting the pronoun pal pins from @kittywithacupcake.bsky.social since I saw the Kickstarter, but because I'm a hermit I couldn't justify them to myself. Now that I'm doing more in-person DMing, though, I decided to get a set for my TTRPG bag. It was so hard to choose just a few!
A set of enamel pins clipped vertically to a piece of cardstock. From top to bottom is a Baphomet head, a she/her plaque, a plaque with rainbow-colored polyhedral dice, a plaque with various videogame implements, and a Baphomet butt
July 12, 2025 at 4:01 PM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
Apparently the current #ShowMeYourKnits prompt is yellow. The lighting isn't amazing, but here's a little sneaky peek at my latest pattern, Thrive. This will be in testing soon and will be released probably in September as a craftivism Knit-along raising money for the Transgender Law Center

#Knit 🧶
A close up of a hand-knit piece. It features a thick center cable with thinner cables branching off at regular intervals against a reverse stockinette background
June 21, 2025 at 3:30 PM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
Does anybody else love an outcome they hate the process of? The design for my next charity knit along has an icord edge and bind-off. I love the way it looks, but find it so tedious...

#Knitting #Craftivism
A small section of a knitting work in progress in gold yarn. You can see a corner of a reverse stockinette piece with a cable and an icord wrapping around the side and top.
June 9, 2025 at 5:38 PM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
Happy pride! I just cast on the sample for my next charity knit along pattern, which will raise money for the Transgender Law Center. This gorgeous yarn is SilkPaca in Amber from @yarndragon24.bsky.social is so soft that I keep stopping to pet it

#Knitting #Craftivism
A cake of golden yarn. A steel knitting needle is sitting on top with the tiniest (two rows) work in progress
June 1, 2025 at 8:30 PM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
Started a Lunar Top (pattern by @aklori.bsky.social) in this gorgeous Stardew Valley yarn from @gamercrafting.bsky.social. The only problem is that the colors are such a perfect match to the start screen that it's tempting me to put this away and pull out my Switch

#Crochet #TunisianCrochet
Two cakes of a blue and green variegated yarn and the start of a Tunisian project in the round on top of an eink tablet showing the title page of the Lunar Top pattern
May 30, 2025 at 7:05 PM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
Phew! Finally finished the sample for this cross stitch pattern. This is the first of an eventual four

#CrossStitch #CrossStitching #Balatro #VideoGames
A cross stitch of the Fibonacci joker from the video game Balatro
May 29, 2025 at 4:38 AM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
Working on fill on this cross stitch and cuddling with a doggy today
A PoV shot of an in-process cross stitch and a brown-and white beagle mix. The cross stitch has partially finished red and blue blocks overlaid with a gray spiral
May 17, 2025 at 7:59 PM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
#SewSky You know those presser feet you always see in IG reels? The really narrow ones for super precision? What do I need to search to find if one exists that would work for my Janome MOD-30?

#Sewing
A screenshot from an Instagram reel showing a very narrow sewing machine presser foot sewing an edge of yellow fabric folded over triangles of blue fabric
May 13, 2025 at 2:46 AM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
Alright! It's finally out! Determination, a cross stitch pattern inspired by the video game Undertale, is available as a digital download on my PayHip

stitchesandstringtheory.com/b/vigSs

#CrossStitch #VideoGames
A framed cross stitch on black fabric. On the top half, six hearts (one each of orange, pink, navy, teal, green, and yellow) surround a seventh, red heart. On the bottom half, white text reads "The sight of a needle passing through fabric fills you with determination"
May 3, 2025 at 4:17 PM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
StoryGraph (a Goodreads alternative) has a section on each book's page compiling content warnings readers have set and if they're minor, moderate, or graphic. Here's an example from Chuck Tingle's "Bury Your Gays." If you click on "see more" you can see how many people put each tag and where
A screenshot reading "Content Warnings. Submitted by users as part of their reviews. View summary: Graphic: gore, homophobia, violence. Moderate: Child abuse, acrophobia/acrophobia, stalking. Minor: Drug use, vomit, cursing." There's a "see all" link below this text
May 3, 2025 at 4:13 PM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
Accountability post! My donation to @nwlc.org from sales of the Unfree Shawl in April (minus the week already covered at the end of the Unfree MAL)

#craftivism
A plot of a sales graph for April, showing 5 sales of the Unfree Shawl totaling $25 gross. An email snippet from the National Women's Law Center, thanking me for my donation of $20.95.
May 2, 2025 at 7:36 PM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
This is why I always work my cross stitch and knitting patterns myself before selling them, and why I won't buy patterns without a FO picture. Looking good on the screen does not always mean it will look good irl. Frogging and readjusting this one. Gold star to anybody who knows what it will be.
An in-progress cross stitch in a Q-Snap frame. There's not a ton done, mostly light blue and pink boxes of various sizes and a light gray curve crossing through the boxes. Part of the curve has been cut and unpicked, with loose ends showing. A needle minder in the shape of The Lamb from Cult of the Lamb and a seam ripper/stiletto with a turned wood handle sit on top of the cross stitch.
April 29, 2025 at 7:21 PM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
Just got this incredible commission from @sgtmug.com and I looooove them! Thank you, mug, for drawing my silly request! These are going to get printed on a pair of coffee cups. And a notebook. And maybe something else.

#Zelda #LegendOfZelda #Tarot
A pair of hand-drawn "tarot" cards. One shows Link from Breath of the Wild with the title "The Twink." The other shows Ganondorf from Tears of the Kingdom with the title "The Bear." Link is in a 3/4 view, looking at the viewer and pouting slightly. Ganondorf is in full profile, glowering at the side of the card. Link is substantially smaller in the frame than Ganondorf.
April 24, 2025 at 1:22 AM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
It's lovely outside today, so I'm listening to the birds and working on my Grandma's Medley sweater by Tina Tse Knits. Yarn is from @sweetpaprikadesigns.com and stitch marker is from @anrti.bsky.social

#Knitting 🧶
A POV shot of a lap with a knitting WiP lying on it. So far, the WiP has a gray bottom ribbing , then blue and gray stripes. One part of the striped section also has a pattern of gray slip stitches. A wooden stitch marker in the shape of the Catbus from My Neighbor Totoro is visible one the end of the slip stitch section
April 23, 2025 at 9:52 PM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
New shirt from @theyetee.com arrived today! It looks so good in person!

#TransRights
A closeup of a design on a T-shirt of a dragon breathing fire that spells out "Trans Rights." The entire thing is in the pink, blue, and white of the trans pride flag
April 14, 2025 at 9:16 PM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
(1/) The #UnfreeMAL is over, and was so successful! On the knit pattern side, 48 people bought the pattern for a total of $317 in sales. I had planned to donate the proceeds, about $270, but decided to make my own contribution adding back in the money lost to transaction fees.
#craftivism #knit 🧶
A plot of sales of the Unfree Shawl from March 1 to April 5. There were 48 sales, totalling $317. A screenshot of an email from PayPal that reads, "Hello, Rachel Sandler. You paid $320 USD to National Women's Law..."
April 6, 2025 at 4:19 PM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
Copper was helping me with some Baldur's Gate 3 fights tonight

#videogames #dogsky
A POV shot of a white hand holding a Steam Deck with Baldur's Gate on the screen. Between the hand and the camera is a brown and white beagle mix, wrapped up in hand knit blankets, sitting in the holder's lap. He's looking in the direction of the Steam Deck as though watching. For those interested, the party is an OC wood elf monk, Karlach, Astarion, and Wyll.
April 5, 2025 at 6:54 AM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
My Unfree Shawl is blocking! I'll be drawing names for prizes from the #UnfreeMAL this Sunday, March 6, so make sure to post your WiPs and FOs before then! That's also when I'll donate and post receipts of everything raised during the MAL, but I'll donate proceeds of the pattern sales in perpetuity
A dark green knit triangle shawl pinned to a set of colorful foam puzzle pieces, with thin metal rods passed through the stitches of the two legs to keep them straight. One leg of the triangle has a cable pattern of two chains along its length
March 31, 2025 at 9:13 PM
stitch-theory.bsky.social
Happy WiP Wednesday! I'm almost done with my #UnfreeMAL shawl! If I were following the pattern, I'd have just completed the final repeat. I weighed my yarn before and after, though, so I know I can fit in one more repeat before the border

#craftivism #charityknitting #knitting 🧶
A dark green knit triangle shawl in progress on a wooden table. The shawl has a chain-like cable motif along one side
March 26, 2025 at 5:58 PM