Quilting By Design

FABRIC MATCHER


     Sewing has become an essential skill, let alone “hobby“, whether quilting, crafting, or sewing garments. With the popularity of crafting, in general, increasing, more and more people are visiting fabric stores to select their fabrics for their upcoming projects. For some, this can be a stressful and frustrating experience, as it is hard to visually imagine the finished project with fabrics and colors that you may have in mind.
     With that said, enter FabricMatcher.com! This global, one-stop shopping site allows you to match fabrics, patterns, and colors, easily customizing your projects right on your computer’s monitor screen. The site also has the capabilities of storing your projects, patterns, selections, etc.
     Fabric Matcher partners with Hancock’s of Paducah, in Kentucky, to aid users in creating their personalized project components. Hancock’s is a very well-known and respected quilt shop, both online and offline (located in Paducah, KY). Hancock’s has thousands of bolts of fabrics to choose from, and if you have ever had the honor of visiting their shop in person, you probably found that there was not enough time in a day to look at the entire store! In fact, I never made it out of the batik section!
     Fabric Matcher also has formed relationships with some of the world’s top fabric, quilt, and cloth designers to create a huge variety in patterns that are available. New patterns are added to the site on a monthly basis, too.
     So, who is Fabric Matcher? Fabric Matcher is owned by a husband and wife design team, Damian and Sarah Fielke. Sarah is a passionate quilter and crafter, while Damian joined forces with her to help develop a crafting community online (hence, the birth of Fabric Matcher). The Fielke’s live in Australia; proving once again that the Internet brings the world closer together, making us all neighbors.
     In addition to all of the cool features of this Web site, with each purchase from Fabric Matcher, an organization called “Trees for the Future” with the Fabric of Life Project will plant a tree in an effort to help combat the negative effects of CO2 in the atmosphere. It is a nice thought to know that your online shopping can help the environment, too!

INTERVIEW

TERRY: Share a little about yourself, your family, hobbies, etc.?
DAMIAN: I am married to Sarah (co-owner of Material Obsession) with two boys - Charlie, 9 and Oscar, 7. We live in Sydney, Australia and my professional background is in design, marketing, and new product development.
TERRY: Damian, are you a quilter?
DAMIAN: No, I am not a quilter, but am a husband to a quilter who runs a business. I have been developing product and marketing for their business for the past three years; they have a contemporary spin on traditional blocks and quilts.
TERRY: In a nutshell, what is your Web site about?
DAMIAN: Having a wife as a quilt designer and quilt shop owner has added another dimension to our lives. Not only have we made some great friends in the quilting community, but we have also had a fun time trying new and innovative ways to approach design and color.
     That is where the fabric matcher idea came from. We used to watch quilters come in to the shop, buy a pattern, and then spend a lot of time trying to match fabrics and build a kit that suited their color needs. We then developed a Web site to help bring fabric, color, and patterns together in one spot. It’s the world’s first one stop shop for matching fabrics, patterns, and color to suit your imagination. I understand that this will not be for everyone, but hopefully will be a successful addition to the wonderful array of quilt and fabric sites on the Web.
TERRY: What makes your Web site truly unique?
DAMIAN: We have developed innovative color and matching tools to help you choose and match fabric to your projects. You can customize quilt and home sewing creations, then buy the fabrics and patterns you need right now. There’s even a place to stash your projects, including favorite photos, patterns, your creations and much more. It all sounds so easy? I know it isn’t, but hopefully people will find the site fun to use, inspirational, and a place where you can share ideas and learn from the community of sewers and quilters.
     The site is also a great marketing tool for fabric designers and pattern designers – these companies have a chance to showcase their fabrics in a number of ways across a variety of patterns.
TERRY: Do users of your site need a subscription or do you offer free services?
DAMIAN: We have two levels of subscription:

• Basic membership which is free – You can use all the functionality, like search fabrics and patterns, match fabrics to patterns and buy the kits.
• Premium membership is $25 for 12months – This allows users to also save projects, images and searches into their own stash so they can come back and review, change and show to other customers what they have been working on.

 
TERRY: When did your site launch and how long did it take it?
DAMIAN: The site launched during the second week of May and it took four months for it to go live online. If users find an error, please submit it to info@fabricmatcher.com. There is also a feedback form in Contact details on the Web; it is a new site and any feedback is much appreciated.
TERRY: Is Hancock’s of Paducah the only fabric shop you partner with?
DAMIAN: Yes, we have formed a partnership where I am able to have them fulfill all the orders around the world. Justin Hancock has been very supportive of the whole project.
TERRY: What is the average length of shipping time for an order?
DAMIAN: Shipping time depends upon the location being shipped to. Details are given on our site.
TERRY: Do you think living in Australia hampers your site in any way?
DAMIAN: Interesting question. One drawback is I probably won’t be able to have a face to face contact with the industry, but from my Web experience, the way customers now purchase over the Internet and the international participation in the craft, people are now more accepting of buying from most key countries in the world. My key strength is that I am working with a well respected US online fabric retailer company who delivers to over 72 countries around the world. My Web site is just another way to help customers make fabric and pattern choices online.
TERRY: Do you have any future plans to share with us?
DAMIAN: Look out for clothing and accessory patterns to be added in the coming months. Plus we will put up new patterns and fabrics every week.
 
     If you are a pattern designer, fabric designer, or fabric manufacturer and would like more information regarding partnering with Fabric Matcher, or if you would be interested in having your product featured on Fabric Matcher, or you are an advertiser of crafting products, or if you would simply like additional information, please feel free to contact Damian.
     Hopefully, you have gleaned enough information about this revolutionary new Web site to motivate you into checking it out! Please feel free to leave comments and/or suggestions in the Comments area below.

---

Quilting By Design Site Map.
Quilting By Design Site Schedule.
Original article first published on Quilting Passion by Terry Crawford.

quilting, quilts, Fabric Matcher, FabricMatcher, FabricMatcher.com, Quilting By Design, Quilting Passion

QuiltPox.com

     This is the first Web site review that I have done and, in my opinion, it would be very difficult to find another site that equals the quality and potential that Quilt Pox has to offer.
     Quilt Pox is owned and completely maintained by Kimberly Crapsey, a very talented and incredible (not to mention highly intelligent) young woman!
     Grab a cup of coffee, hot tea, or your favorite beverage, then sit back and relax as you enjoy a personal interview into the life of Kimberly!
     
TERRY: Kimberly, how did you get started quilting and when?
KIMBERLY: Well, the honest truth is that I started quilting when I was about 15 years old and bought a package of 6″ squares from the local variety store and sewed them all together. I had always been fascinated with quilts, even though we had none in our family. Well, I had a top and no idea what to do after that. Fast forward about 16 years, in 2000 (that original top was later used by a brother as a oil cloth when I went away to college and left it behind!) I really got the quilting bug. A girl I worked with made some simple quilts for a few colleagues and I begged her to show me how. With basic instructions, and a trip to Joann’s, the quilting bug was born in me. I had no idea what the heck I was doing back then, but I learned quickly and absorbed everything I could. As I tend to not stick with things, I only bought a cheap Brother sewing machine, which I quickly broke and then evolved to my first mechanical Viking. Fast forward 7 years and I now have a Husqvarna Viking Lily 555, a Brother PQ1500, and a Bernina 180e.
TERRY: I have seen your hand-dyed fabrics both online and in person. They are absolutely gorgeous! What caused you to begin hand-dyeing your own fabrics?
KIMBERLY: While a member of a different quilting forum, one member shared some of her hand dyed fabrics. I had already fallen in love with Bali hand dyes and batiks, by now having graduated to mostly quilt shop only fabric. I was so taken with the hand dyes, that I had to learn myself. So, I got a starter kit from Dharma Trading, and that was all it took. My kitchen isn’t set up well for dyeing now so I don’t get in as much as I would like, but I love having the opportunity to dye my own color backings.
ADDITONAL NOTE: Kimberly taught a hand-dyeing class on QPU earlier this year and the results were awesome!
TERRY: Do you have any current projects that you are working on?
KIMBERLY: Wow, too many. I have started several and not gotten far, among them, a folded flower wallhanging from Rebecca Wat’s book. I also have a hexagon vest in the works using the Quilt Patis. Of course, both of these are labor-hand intensive. Then I have 3 different block swaps that I have participated in that need to be sewn together and quilted. That doesn’t include the ideas in my head. They never end.
TERRY: How do you fit quilting and your Web site into your very busy schedule?
KIMBERLY: Well, that is the hard part. I was spoiled, in a way, by working at a help desk, graveyard shift, for many years. I worked 3 - 12 hour shifts so not only did I have time to work on my site from work, but I had lots of days off to work on quilts. Now that I am doing a real 9-5er, I don’t have nearly enough time, and can’t work on my site from work. I still try to add something new at least once a month or so, even if it is only a new tip or quilting term.
TERRY: How did you come up with the name, “Quilt Pox”, and what does it mean?
KIMBERLY: Well, almost as soon as quilting “stuck” with me, I knew being a geekette that I would need a website. Up to this point, I had several playful for me sites. So, when I was coming up with names, many were taken. Then I remembered hearing this term “quiltpox” to describe what happens when quilters get addicted. Surely that name was already taken? But, nope, it was mine for the having. I was so thrilled. What was even more shocking was about 5 months later when I found a LQS (Local Quilt Shop) in my area named “Quilt Pox Shoppe.” They have now changed their name, but it was a funny coincidence because I became friends with the owners and even helped them with their website.
TERRY: I have been to your site numerous times and I know that you definitely have the bragging rights to something unique. Will you share with our readers what that is?
KIMBERLY: My quilter’s dictionary. It is the largest that I have found on the web. Eventually I would like to move this to a database and have the search function work better but it is quite extensive. I spent many months working on that and I am happy to say that I knew about 75% of them just from my own knowledge and education.
TERRY: Your site continues to grow! What else does it offer?
KIMBERLY: Well, I have quite a number of free patterns. My most popular are Hugs & Kisses (for baby quilts) and the Quick ‘N Easy Wallet. Those two patterns alone get as many hits as all of the others combined. I have lost track of how many sites link to them now. I also have some tools and how-to’s, including beginning dyeing session. I also host a challenge twice a year in conjunction with Quilting Passion Forum, so those are on the site as well. I also have a place for readers to leave their favorite tips, and a large quilting dictionary.
TERRY: What are your future plans for Quilt Pox?
KIMBERLY: I would like to add a few more patterns that I have half-written up, and I have one major addition coming as soon as I get the code written. That will be a surprise.

     Well, I can certainly say that I am definitely looking forward to Kimberly’s “surprise”, as you probably are now, too. I believe that if you will take a few minutes to visit her site, you will find a lot of valuable information, as well as eye candy for your quilter’s soul!

---

Quilting By Design Site Map.
Original article first published on Quilting Passion by Terry Crawford.

quilting, quilts, quilt pox