Hi there!
Got a question? Please check here first, hopefully you will find what you are looking for. If I have directed you here in response to a question, thank you for coming.
General Questions:
So, what's up with the name "Angry Chicken"?
Not too much. I wish there were a funny/interesting story here. I should invent one. It's part of the title of one of my favorite small quilts I made. I figured the name wasn't too popular, and needed a blog name. That was as much thought as I gave it. I like chickens, but I am not "angry" nor have I ever thought of myself as a "chicken" although I now realize to everyone else, I AM the angry chicken—and I'm cool with that. I have friends now that call me "chicken" or "A.C." Both of which I love.
I'm headed to Portland and want to check out some cool places-where should I go?
I really want to have a long list here of my personal Portland faves, and some day I will, but for now you can find a ton of great suggestions over here at Alicia's wonderful blog, Posie Gets Cozy. For restaurants, check out all the reviews over here at my favorite Portland food blog. My favorite shopping/eating/hang-out neighborhood is N. Mississippi—for just eating head to all the places on SE Division.
I'd like to advertise on your blog. What are your rates?
I don't offer any advertising on my blog or websites. I also don't do blog giveaways or retail discounts. I consider my blog an online art/sketchbook and brain dump just for me. In a way, it's one big ad for everything I do—for my books, patterns, artwork, things I sell, etc.
Do you have a press page or some place with reviews of your book and other projects you have contributed to?
Why yes I do! It's right here, on my personal website.
You homeschool, right? What curriculum do you use and do you have any favorite resources you can suggest?
Yes, we do homeschool our 3 girls and we don't use a purchased curriculum. We unschool, but that term is so broad and means different things for each family. We use our library and the world to work on themes together—like the Titanic, or the Civil War, or Volcanoes, and then just go for it. It works for us and is always changing. I have a category on the blog called "learning" that I try to file this under. I could write a whole blog about this, but then I'd have no time left to actually unschool! ha!
So, I realize you don't do ads but what's your deal with company links and are you associated with any companies as an associate?
Except for the following shops listed below, I don't review or link to items for profit, cash, or trade—so if I link to a shop, it's because I really do just like them or what they are selling. Sometimes I do review products I have been sent for free and I clearly say in the post I was given something. I enjoy reviewing books and sometimes receive review copies for free and sometimes I buy them, again I state in the blog post if they were purchased by me or sent to me for free. There are new FTC rules regarding product reviews on blog and I am in compliance with these, please check it out.
I am an associate for the following companies: Mountain Rose Herbs (an Oregon herb company) Powell's Books (a Portland bookstore) Amazon (you know them already) and Indie Bound (an online source to buy from local bookshops). What this means is any time I link to these companies and you follow the link and make a purchase, I get a small percentage of money. This is a way for me to support the companies I already like to use and a way for you to support me in my time and effort providing content that you enjoy on this blog. I hope everyone shops local first—but it's not always possible, I love spreading online love to local shops as well.
What kind of sewing machine do you use? How about some advice on what to look for?
I use a Bernina Artista 165E and I love it. I got it after having the same Viking Husqvarna since I was 18 (I still love that machine.) you can read about my Bernina here. This exact model is no long made, FYI. I have advice in my book about buying machines and what to look for (nice book plug!) and Not Martha has a really good post here about buying a sewing machine and she links to a lot of sewing books as well. Make sure to check out all the great info in her comments on that post, too.
Where can I buy cool fabric in Portland? How about online?
I list Portland fabric shops in this post here, and check the comments too, and then I started a discussion listing online fabric shops here in my Bend-the-Rules Sewing flickr group.
Do you have a serger? What kind? And do I need one?
I do have a serger. I have a Babylock Imagine and I can't imagine ever being without it. Do you need one? Well... this really deserves it's own blog post, it's such a big subject. The short answer is no. But if you do a lot of garment sewing, especially clothes that get a lot of washing (like for kids) it's a wonderful investment. It finishes your seams, so there is no fraying, and also trims and sews at the same time. I could really say a lot about this, and I will at some point. For now I'd say, if you want one, get the best you can possibly afford. It's way worse having a lame serger than no serger, trust me. Threading these can be so hard, it will make you not want to use it-which is I why I got the Babylock one, it's amazing. My first serger was pretty much a nightmare.
I have your book, Bend-the-Rules Sewing and Bend the Rules with Fabric, and I have a question about a pattern/resource/material, etc.
I'm so happy you have the book! Take a peek at the flickr group for both groups. Lots of questions are answered there, as well as photos of completed projects. If you have a issue or question which isn't covered, feel free to post the question in the discussion sections on flickr, I check it often. You can also e-mail me, but the response might be slower.
I want to sell items made from the patterns in your book, Bend-the-Rules Sewing, is this okay?
It is! But, I do need to be given credit as the designer. Potter Craft, my publisher, has requested the following text be on the hang tag of any sold item made from my book. "This is an original design by Amy Karol from her book Bend-the-Rules Sewing published by Potter Craft, 2007" They also would prefer if the cover of the book is shown as well, but realize that might be hard to do.
Hi! I have a blog and I tagged you for a meme, blog-thingy, or some other type of question thing, will you play along?
Hey, thanks! I am horrible at these. I always mean to do them, then forget, then feel horrible trying to tag other bloggers, and then I just stress about it—so I just usually let them fester in my comments and feel about it not doing them. Sorry! I do read all my comments, and I do know when I have been tagged, I just can't seem to get on these. But thank you!!!
I was wondering about how you got your book deal. Did you self publish? Do you have a literary agent? Any advice about getting into this whole gig?
Everyone I have talked to in publishing has their own back story on all this, never two experiences alike. There are a ton of books and resources out there about publishing as well. I made it all up as I went along and learned a lot. I did not self publish. My books are published by Potter Craft (an imprint of Random House) and I do have a literary agent. I recently did a podcast interview about my books over at craftsanity and talk about this a little bit-you can hear it right here.
What kind of camera do you use?
I now have a Canon Rebel 400 and I love it!
Do you have a mailing list?
Why, yes I do. Please see it under "mail list" over at kingpod.
I signed up on your mailing list, but I don't get the e-mails. What gives?
Sorry! Maybe you have a tough spam filter on? My mail gets through to 99% of the people who subscribe to it.
Mailorder Questions:
This is a craftclub I used to have, and sometime I still put out new issues. You can read all about it here.
Tie One On/ Apron Questions:
This was an ongoing apron sewing make-a-long with a flickr gallery and blog I had going from 2005-2012. You can read all about it and find the links here.
Japanese Craftbook Questions:
Where do you buy these books?
I get mine here locally in Portland (well, Beaverton to be exact) at the bookstore Kinokuniya, inside of Uwajimaya.
Are these books in English at all?
No, not usually.
Can I actually use these books for making projects, or are they more inspirational?
Well, both. It depends on what kind of crafter you are. If you have enough skill/experience and don't mind projects turning out a bit different than pictured, they are just fine, but if you need more instruction or are a beginner, they are potentially frustrating and not the best books to learn from. I think these books are just so lovely to look at, sometimes that is enough for me, but I know that is not the case for everyone. Things to keep in mind with the sewing books; they usually require you to trace the patterns out of the book first, add seam allowances, and are in metric.
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Most of these questions are related to my blog content, but you can find out more over on my personal website, amykarol.com, with links to interviews and list of other projects I have done.