It's getting chilly in the city. Time to warm up with some cozy knitwear. Thank you for your patience as the stores are being stocked this year. It's been a struggle lately but we are all pushing through. I'm so thankful for the behind-the-scenes help I have been getting on business infrastructure and management. In our ever-changing times, it's even more important to have a supportive team on your side. 

The above picture is just some of the store updates and works in progress that are being worked on for the lifestyle brand. Lot's of artistic knitwear and woven products are being added this month before the holidays. 

Recently, I hosted a show called “ART TIME” in partnership with BRONXNET TV Network and BX ARTS FACTORY that centered around making projects at-home using every day objects.  The project I focused on was a multi-functional manual loom that can be made with a simple cardboard coffee can you can get at any supermarket. 

You can view that episode here:

Manual looms are great because you can knit and weave on them. As I worked on this project I wanted to take it a step further, so I upgraded the loom using an old American Girl Doll weaving kit I picked up on sale at Barnes and Nobles. After opening up the American Girl Doll kit I found it impossible to write the post because the kit was so lacking in quality and I didn’t want to trash the product so I took a pass on the story and it sat in my studio for years. Upon making this tutorial I rediscovered the loom kit and thought of an awesome way to use it.

If you have one of these kits sitting around at home here is what you can do with it:

Step 1. Open the kit and toss out the yarns. They’re awful unless you’re a spinner that can recycle the yarns in a spinning batt.

Step 2. Watch my Art Time episode above on how to make this loom. It’s simple and won’t cost you anything to make.

Step 3. Take the loom part from the American Girl Doll kit and place on a sturdy table along with a hot glue gun. Flip your handmade loom upside down and glue your American Girl Doll loom part on the bottom of your loom using the glue gun. It should fit perfectly if you’re using a cardboard coffee can. The brand I’m using is from TRADER JOES.

That’s it. You have just made a manual knitting machine that can rival the Addi Express Knitting Machine. I know some are thinking that it’s impossible but I beg to differ. If you’re a hobby knitter and you are not using a circular knitting machine to create a mass amount of product, for the $100.00 price tag, the Addi Express is sort of a waste of money. This knitter creates a quick knit up fabric that can be used for clothing and accessories.

If you decide to make this project and you don’t have the American Girl Doll weaving kit on hand then the cost of this project will run you around $27.00 but these kits are sold in lots of placed on a deep discount because of its product value.

This is a great project to do in preparation for the holiday season. Pair this project with some yarns from our collection SOLD HERE and you’re all set. Everyone in our crew likes to knit with a warm cup a cocoa and marshmallows but it’s your cozy time so you make the rules!

You can find more lifestyle ideas at SAJATA-EFORD2BD.COM

It's been a wild year and I can't believe it's almost over. As an artist and designer of this company, I've had to think quickly on my feet.

To recap in case you have not been following us this year:

1. Covid-19 hit New York very hard. All of our in-person workshops were completely shut down and remain so until further notice.

2. We shut down the warehouse and moved into another studio space with the partnership of KREATE HUB where our office is located and collective stores are now housed.

3. I, the lead designer and teaching artist for the creative lifestyle brand had to pull it together to offer all the workshops online. That we did and it was a super success. 

4. The Natural Knitting Project book was delayed due to the pandemic but its set to be released in December 2020 and I’m set to write the next book on the complete theory of this design practice in 2021. The outline for that book has already started. Title to be released in Midsummer of 2021.

5. A new online school has opened for us in a format that we can finally live with.

6. Finally, a complete rework of our farming partners supplying all the wool for the products and programming plus sustainable raw material suppliers has been formatted. That was the biggest task.

Did I miss anything, don’t think I did.

Also, in order to cultivate a better and more well adjusted social media audience there have been a few changes:

1. Not sadly, there will be a retirement of all platforms pages owned and operated by FACEBOOK. The content will still be available to the public but there will be no new content posted to those platforms. I have always held the saying true that if you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything. Moving forward I, as the owner of this company will only align myself and this company with other companies that have the same goals and values as we do. None of us are perfect but we should strive to do better and be better (I include myself in that). All fun lifestyle content will be on platforms like PATREON where the audience has a real say in the content that is presented to them.

2. Other platforms like Twitter and YouTube will be advertisement and store updates ONLY.

IN-STORE PICKUP of all local orders has also been added to the shop. Some of our shops have been offline for redesign and restocking but for the stores that are up and running I thank you for your recent orders.

Once again, thanks for all your support. Stay safe and looking forward to a awesome holiday season.

xoxo SAJATA-E