Frequently Asked Questions… Because YOU Wanted To Know
1) Hm, so why’s your blog called “BitterSweet?” Does it have something to do with chocolate?
Nope, I wasn’t even thinking of the possible connection to chocolate when I first created it. I was really referring to my crafts as being the small sweet things in an otherwise bitter life. While I’m happy to say that my outlook has improved significantly since then, I feel that the name is still applicable when I consider this to be my little oasis of sweet people to share my thoughts with in an otherwise bitter world.
2) Alright, I get it… But if you care about these “sweet people” so much, why don’t you ever respond to comments?
I used to attempt responding to every single comment – Which would take me multiple hours a day. Now that my traffic has continued to increase, there’s just no way I can always reply, although rest assured that I absolutely always read everything posted, and I make sure that any questions are answered. Some times I can’t think of a darned thing to say, or work gets so overwhelming that there simply aren’t enough hours in a day to do so, but I do make an effort! If you’re concerned that there are never any replies from me on the post itself, no need to fret, because I like to email everyone individually, as I would rather not clog my own pages with even more of my babble.
3) Hey, I just love your knit / crocheted _____! Can I possibly get the pattern?
If the pattern is something that I found for free online, I will always include a link so that you can access it as well, but many of the crafts I make are modified from patterns found in various books. I’d love to share these, but copyrights prevent me from doing so. I try to write down instructions when I’m creating something from scratch, but if I’m in a rush, tired, or just want to keep that one to myself, it really isn’t possible for me to go back and recall exactly what I did. Sorry about that!
4) You talk about using these “safety eyes” in an awful lot of your stuffed animals. What are they, and where can I find them?
Safety eyes are specially designed to stay securely in place in stuffed animals so that little babies (or pets) can’t pull them out and possibly swallow them. I use them all the time because I like the look they provide, in addition to the reassurance that they won’t fall off like some half-beads will when poorly glued on. They can be a bit tricky to track down in the US for some reason, but a few craft stores such as JoAnne’s and AcMore’s stocks a meager selection. If you want a nice range of sizes and colors though, I highly suggest ordering online from sites such as CraftBits. Sure, the shipping costs do add up, but I think that the quality makes it worth the price.
5) I’m a beginner at crochet / knitting and I don’t understand these abbreviations you use. Could you explain what they mean?
There are plenty of people who have graciously written up this info – Try looking here for knitting abbreviations and here for crochet.
6) I just made a ton of amigurumi and other crafty items from your patterns! Can I go ahead and sell them now?
I’m sorry to say that I can not allow anything created from my craft patterns, or the written instructions themselves, to be sold for monetary gain. Since all of the patterns are made free for everyone to enjoy equally, and I make no profit on them myself, it doesn’t seem right to charge for them at any point. You’re still welcome to swap with your finished creations or give them away for gifts, as long as a price tag never enters the picture. Thanks for understanding!
7) Those are some nifty pictures you’ve got there… I’m a photo-buff myself, so I was wondering, what sort of camera do you use?
Older pictures were shot with my trusty Canon PowerShot A75 which is a fairly basic point-and-shoot camera, but I know it well and on occasion I can even coax decent photos out of it. I would definitely recommend it for any beginners, as it has everything you need without worrying about lenses, apertures, and shutter speed [unless you want to, in which case you still have a little room to play around.] Now, however, I have the wonderful fortune to receive a new little toy as a gift, so I’ve upgraded to the Canon Digital Rebel XTi- An amazing machine to say the least. I’m still making the transition over, so you may see some older, less attractive pictures crop up every now and then until I get everything figured out.
8) What do you do with all the sweets you make?
It’s true that I have a powerful sweet tooth, but there’s no way I can eat all of the goodies featured on my blog in my cookbooks alone. If I make something that I absolutely love but can’t finish quickly, I can freeze it, for starters. However, I’m lucky to have a hungry army to feed- My family is always receptive to my experiments, and what can’t be finished within the household is sent off to parties and gathers, or is taken in to work for coworkers to enjoy. Then there are always friends around who are willing taste testers as well. The two go hand in hand- You can’t have too many friends, and you can never have too much food when they’re around!
9) Now I’m hungry- Quit being such a tease with photo-only posts! Can I get the recipe?
If I haven’t included a recipe written in at the bottom of the post or hyper-linked to one somewhere within, then sadly, no recipe is available. This is either because I was just “free-style” cooking and didn’t take notes, wasn’t totally pleased with the results/aren’t sure they’re reliable, or I’m saving the recipe for a future publication. If the last reason is the case, then I’ll be sure to post an update when it’s finally available, and where you can find it.
10) Where on Earth did my comment go? I don’t see it!
Don’t panic, sometimes comments get caught in the spam filter. With any luck, I’ll spot it among the junk and rescue it. I’m sorry to say that I can’t always salvage every comment that gets mixed in with the spam, especially if there’s been a high volume of trolls at the same time. Just try commenting again and hopefully I’ll catch it next time.
If you successfully commented but then discovered that your comment went missing later, think about the content of your post. I will remove any malicious, hateful, or offensive comments. Comments that contain self-promoting links will either be edited to remove the links, or deleted altogether.
11) Hey, I have a comment / question, but it doesn’t really apply to any of your current posts. How else can I get in contact with you?
Drop me a line at hannah @ mysweetvegan . com. Just remove the spaces!
More to come soon – Keep asking and I’ll keep adding to this list.
Represented by The Lisa Ekus Group, LLC.
