My FAQ. (Or, The Longest Post Ever.)

Hi there!
Got a question? Please check here first, hopefully you will find what your are looking for. If I have directed you here in response to a question, thank you for coming. I try to reply to questions personally as best I can, but I assure you this is the fastest way to get an answer. Advance apologies for misinformation, half-truths, and gross exaggerations. I can't help it, it's in my nature.

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 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.

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.

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 fell 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!!!

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 teh comments too, and then I started a discussion listing online fabric shops here in my Bend-the-Rules Sewing flickr group.

I'd like to advertise on your blog. What are your rates?
I don't offer any advertising on my blog or websites. 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 book, patterns, artwork, etc. and I need to keep it this way. I happily link to other blogs and companies when I see items I love, and I enjoy reviewing books and sometimes receive review copies for free, but I only review books and items that I would normally buy anyway.

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 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. 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, 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.

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 ton. I did not self publish. My book is published by Potter Craft (an imprint of Random House) and I do have a literary agent. I recently did a podcast interview about my book over at craftsanity and talk about this a little bit-you can hear it right here.

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 great PDX post at Posie gets Cozy (see the comments.) For restaurants, check out all the reviews over here at my favorite Portland food blog, and for a craft events/class schedule that will blow your mind, look at DIY Alert. West Coast Crafty always has a ton of info on cool Portland stuff as well. I think everyone in this town leaves the house more than I do. My favorite shopping/eating/hang-out neighborhood is N. Mississippi, I will say that. Here's a great crafty map of Portland-check it out!

What kind of camera do you use?
Ha! Okay, seriously, no one has ever asked me this. But my photos don't suck that bad! I use a Canon PowerShoot A75 and I do plan to get a better camera soon. I have some really cool cameras, really I do, but none of them are digital. I now have a Canon Rebel 400 and I love it!.

What is up with all your websites/flickr groups?
Here's a cheat sheet:

Websites:
amykarol.com: The front door to everything I do. The press page (with books I have contributed to and podcast interview links) can be found here.
kingpod.com: My art site and home of mailorder and cards for sale.
Tie One One: My apron blog and links to the Tie One On apron submissions.
Angry Chicken: My crafty blog and the back-door to all this foolishness.

Photo Groups on Flickr:
Tie One On Apron Project: where I show all the apron submissions (this group is viewable to everyone, but only I can upload to it)
Mailorder Club: a place for everyone to show their mailorder projects (a public group)
Bend-The-Rules Sewing: a place to show your sewing projects made from my book (a public group)
Vintage Aprons: a place to share vintage aprons from your own collection (a public group)
Vintage Apron Sewing Patterns: a place to show vintage apron sewing patterns from your own collection (a public group)

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.

Who designed your amy karol and /or kingpod websites and who hosts it?
I do all the graphic design/layout/organization of the sites and my genius husband codes it all up. My brother used to host it all in his basement, but we went legit and now use GoDaddy, with no complaints thus far.

I am new to blogging and I have a technical question about banners/buttons/etc. Can you help me?
You really don't want help from me.  If I can't figure something out in 5 minutes, I put Pete on it. Your best bet is to talk to your blogging company.

What program do you use for your banner/ graphics?
I use Adobe Illustrator pretty much for everything. If I am hand drawing, I scan and then color in Photoshop, but Illustrator is what I use when I draw directly with the computer.

I have a new blog, can I link to yours? Do you want to swap links?
Welcome aboard! And yes you can link away, thank you. I don't really have a blogroll anymore, just a rotating list of blogs that changes pretty often. There are too many amazing blogs out there-a blog roll totally overwhelms me, so I don't really swap links like that, sorry.

Where do you get your mailorder/small quilt card postcards printed?
I use overnight prints for these cards, and my business cards. I have had great luck with them. I know others have had color issues, just so you know. Photographs seem to run dark.

I see you have the vintage My Friend Mandy and Jenny dolls. Do you know where I can find the original sewing patterns for their clothes? Are you willing to make copies for me of yours? And will American Girl clothes fit on Mandy?
I actually found some Mandy sewing patterns by looking on ebay, but my mom, god bless her, kept all of the ones I had growing up that she used for my Mandy doll. I can't make copies of these, sorry. The Mandy doll is 16" tall and quite a bit thinner around than the 18" tall American Girl. So, you can use AG patterns for Mandy, but not vice-versa.

I see you have the collection of crocheted bird patterns which are out of print. Can you make copies for me for a swap or to sell?
These bird patterns flew into my house for a bit, then flew away. . . I no longer have these patterns, sorry.

Artwork/Kingpod Questions:

I see your animal prints are sold out. Do you plan to reprint them?
No. . . but I'm glad you like them!

There is a small quilt of yours I really would like, but it is sold, can you make another one similar?
I actually can't. I'm not sure why, but it's just not something I can do. . . they seem to have a mind of their own.

Are you taking commissioned work right now?
I have in the past, but I am unable to right now.

Where else can I find your work?
Locally in Portland there are some small quilts at Henny Penny.

Do you sell your small quilt cards wholesale?
Sometimes, but not often. Mostly just to shops that also are showing my framed quilts.

I can't seem to find pricing for your quilts.
The large quilts are not for sale and the small quilts have the price on the enlarged view. It's a pop-up window when you click on the small image.

Mailorder Questions:

What is mailorder?
It's a craft/sewing/recipe project club with projects designed by me.You can find the complete description over at kingpod. Please click on "mailorder"

How can I subscribe?
There are no subscriptions right now. There were in the past, but for now, starting with issue #8, it's just single issues. Issue #8 is not mailed, but a PDF of a papercutting pattern available over on Kingpod. All the old issues are sold out.

Do you have any of the Bonnets, Ragdoll, or Cross-stitch Sampler issues left? Are you going to ever sell them just as patterns?
I try to keep a special stash of about 15 or so in case some get lost in the mail, so there is no harm in asking me. But, the bonnet issue (#2) is gone, for real. I have absolutely none left. Nor do I have any #1 issues left. But, don't despair! You can buy just the Bonnet sewing pattern right here, look under "shop".

Are you ever going to reprint back issues of mailorder?
No, not at this time.

Are all the drawings in mailorder, including the recipe card, done by you?
Why yes, they are. Either by hand, computer, or both.

I own a shop and would like to buy some issues of mailorder for wholesale.
I don't sell mailorder wholesale at this time.

How can I keep abreast of all your mailorder shenanigans-including when the single issues are available to buy?
Please sign up on my mail list over at kingpod and you will be notified.

I can't figure out a secret word from one of the issues, can you give me a hint?
Yes! I'd be happy to, just e-mail me. And the prizes are good, so it's worth it.

Would you ever sell just your recipe cards?
I don't plan to right now, but that would be a fun idea. . .

Can I sell items made from mailorder patterns?
No, these are for personal use only. Thank you.

Tie One On/ Apron Questions:

Do I need to "join" or do anything special to be part of Tie One On?
Nope, just e-mail me with your apron submission as an attached jpeg by the deadline, with a blog or e-mail link (optional) and any info you want me to add. Wondering if I got your submission? I am not able to send confirmation emails, sorry, but don't worry--if for some reason it didn't go through, I can add it later.

I don't see the apron I submitted in the gallery? How come?
Sorry! This happens sometimes (human error) and it is not personal, ever. Please e-mail me and I will add it pronto.

How do I get my apron photos in the Tie One On gallery?
Only I can do this, which is why you need to e-mail them to me, the control freak.

Can I buy one of your vintage or homemade aprons? Do you have patterns for the ones you make?
I don't sell vintage aprons or apron patterns (There are some apron patterns in my book however-wink)

Where can I buy vintage and/or homemade aprons?
Please see the handy list of shops on the Tie One On blog for this.

I sell aprons (homemade, vintage, or sewing patterns.) Can you add me to your shop list?
Why yes! please just send me an e-mail with the links.

I am looking for a specific style of vintage apron sewing pattern, can you help me try to find it?
Your best bet is to look through the massive collection of patterns in the Vintage Apron Patterns Group I have on flickr. These are from private collections, but seeing an image might help and then you can always try to contact the owner of the pattern and see if you can swap/trade, etc.

How come you don't link to my shop in the apron gallery on flickr with my Tie One On apron submission?
Ah, yes. I actually post about this here. It's against flickr rules to sell from a photo and I don't want my account to get yanked. For this reason, I am happy to link to your aprons for sale from the Tie One On blog instead of flickr.

I would like to put the Tie One On button on my blog. How do I do this and what is the code?
Thank you!  Here is the code for the button.

<A HREF="http://angrychicken.typepad.com/tieoneon"><IMG style="border-style: none;" SRC="http://angrychicken.typepad.com/tieoneonbt1.jpg"/></A>

I am not a good "how-to" button person, it makes me crazy. I'd contact your blogging company for help on how to do this.

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.

I would like to order some books online. Can you give me some tips of using yesasia and amazon jp? These online companies are what most crafters use, but because I can get them locally, I have never used these online companies. I am of no help here. Sorry. I have noticed quite a few shops on Etsy selling Japanese craftbooks now. Just search for "Japanese Craft Book" in the subject line.

Crafting Japanese has links for the online shops as well has brick and mortar shops. It's on the side bar. I know many sites now offer English. . . I'm really not a good resource for how to purchase these books online, but I know lots and lots of crafters do this with great success.

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.Crafting Japanese is a wonderful site which is all about these books, you can search by the isbn, and see actual projects people have made from these books. 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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Okay, thanks for reading this, it's LONG! I I will try to keep it current and updated as needed. If for some crazy reason you want to read even more about me-here's my press page with books I have contributed to, reviews of my book, and interview links. Thank you!

 

 

Comments

[Morgan]

I have a question, ...just kidding. Geez, this answers questions I didn't even know I had! Thanks for all the info!

xoxo

[Sarah]

Yay! Podcast!

I have a question? Are you super excited your book is almost out!? Man..to see your name in print...

Are you going to do anything unusal? Like buy 5 copies for yourself, autography one for a time capsule with your girls, or frame the cover?

[Anina]

Wow, thanks for all that info! I can't imagine anyone ever having an unanswered question again.

[cat]

i cannot believe you did this...you're too nice!!!the printing q&a will be helpful. thanks a mil amy. take care.

[Margot]

Thanks Amy, you're the greatest!

[Sarah]

Here's a question: why "Angry Chicken"?

[Heather]

Cool, Amy. I'm planning to do a faqs page too -- should really help with the unanswered emails dilemma. Have you seen the new Typepad feature called "Pages"? I'm thinking a page might the perfect place to house such info, then it can be changed and updated at will. Oh, and linked to in the sidebar. You always have the best bells and whistles, so I'm sure you've already checked this page thing out. Not sure what my point is.

Anyhoo... I am excited to go hear your new interview!

[carol]

yowsa- I can't imagine having so many people ask so many questions! you are too nice- it was fun reading!

[Alicia P.]

Holy comprehensiveness. Next time anyone dares ask me a question I'm just gonna point them over here and say, "What she said," 'kay?

And what about Thursday night, would that work? Or tomorrow, actually, after 6ish.

[KT]

Wow! You seriously rock! What a great post. We are in back in Seattle now (from VA) and when we eventually make it to PDX, I would love to buy you a piece of pie.

[lambie-pie]

I was really excited that you're planning on selling the ragdoll pattern. I missed it and I was so mad that I did! Since I'm about to have a girl I really wanted it to sew a doll for her at some point. So anyway, can you add my email to your list? I thought I had before but I don't know what happened because I didn't get the #7 one either.
Thanks for all of the useful info,
E

[Angelinaa]

About the printers you used: the FAQ question is asking about Mailorder as well as your cards. In your answer you said you use Overnight Prints for your business cards and post cards. Did you mean you use Overnight Prints for Mailorder also?

(I once e-mailed you this question as I was looking for a recommended printer for similar projects, so I'd love to know. I already have a printer that does my postcards but they don't do magazine printing.)

Thanks.

[Jodi]

Wow you are a true inspiration! I want to be like you when i grow up! Thanks so much for sharing all this info!
http://happyhousequilts.blogspot.com

[3ugenia]

I'm really impress about the long section of FAQ.
Tanks for all the fantastic images you present in all the web pages.

Best regards