The Customers Versus The Organizer

It was probably no coincidence that yesterday was National Quilting Day, and I spent the day at 35th Avenue Sew n Vac at 35th/Northern in Phoenix for their Black Bag event. What fun Black Bag day is there. The store had cookies, games and discounts, and dozens of shoppers poured through the doors all day long.

The store gave me a prominent booth next to the front door where I had an activity for shoppers to select their top 5 organizing tools from among 10 tagged items on the table. I tallied the results and am amazed to find that no one had exactly the same top 5 selections as me. The following shoppers matched four of my five selections: Linda O., Kim U., Frances M., Cecile D., Judy O'., Marjorie, Wanda S., Ruth H., Diane M. and Roberta H.

Of the 10 items displayed, I chose:
1. My book (so that you can reference new ideas for how and when to use these products)

2. ArtBin Super Satchel Deluxe project case (although I much prefer the 12x12" size)

3. Blue Feather's BobbinSaver

4. Sewline's Gift Set with Case

5. Gypsy's Bitty Buddy Thread Catcher

My selections matched the overall top vote-getters in all but one case. The item that shoppers selected among their top five items that didn't match mine was Collins' Daisy Spool Pin Cushion. Note that Collins also makes a longer version that fits a bobbin and a king spool.

I think that the Gypsy Bitty Buddy Thread Catcher has a lot more potential than just as a mini trash can. Because it is collapsible, it's very flexible and can be used as a temporary holder for most anything.

While I was at the shop, I took a few minutes to browse and see what other organizing wonders I might find. In honor of National Quilting Day, I hereby declare this product as my National Quilting Day product-of-the-day. It is the Puzzlemat from Cottage Mills. These 12"x12" squares piece together to turn any surface into an instant cutting surface. I found the whole set of six squares to be rather heavy, but I can picture slipping one or two mats into your to-go kit and being able to create a cutting surface in a jiffy. Or keep one square next to you when you have small piecing projects.

I suspect that the Puzzlemat will still give you some uneven points at the joins, so I'm interested to know who uses this product already and can share their opinion. Select Reply to this post.