Saturday, April 13, 2013

It's the little things

I spend way too much time thinking of ways to organize my workroom.  Shelves are fine, if you can be bothered to put the fabric back on them.

Bins are lovely, if you put the right things in them.

Magazine binders are great, but somewhat pointless if the contents are not the same as what's on the label.

In other words, I am a hopeless slob constantly in search of organization.

And today I found one thing that works.

Or at least I hope it will.  There's nothing else in the room that I can think of as a good mis-use for this little doodad, which is made of fairly soft rubber and is meant for nothing in the world but to organize my bobbins and keep them from rolling all over the table, the floor and anywhere else the cats think to send them once they're down.

We went down to 4th Street today, still known somewhat optimistically as Fabric Row.  I had to pick up some buttons, and I remembered the last time we were down there I'd seen this organizer in Zoll's.  I'd thought about it off and on since then but couldn't commit to the $8 that it cost.

Except sometimes $8 isn't $8, it's neatness, no missing bobbins and not stepping on one in my bare feet, which is a pain just short of Lego.

For those who know Fabric Row, there's a new gap on the street: Jack B's, a corner shop so stuffed with fabric that it was more like a rabbit's den than a store, burned last Saturday evening, taking with it the shop next door and a Philadelphia fireman.  Everyone got out safely, except for the captain (and possibly one apartment cat, though Red Paw, Philly's emergency pet rescue, is still searching for her).  We saw the building today, partly collapsed, burned bolts of fabric scattered everywhere.

4 comments:

Irene said...

These rubber doughnuts are a marvel - and you have the exact same colour as I have!

Elaray said...

I was very sorry to hear that Jack B's has most probably been lost. I talk to the owner's wife (at least that's who I think she is) when I go in and she's been saying business has been bad for quite a while. If another business ends up at that location, it probably will not be a fabric store.

gMarie said...

Love your bobbin organization system. I think I have one of those.

I think I missed your Philly fabric row, but I'm still very sad to hear of a lost business as well as a firefighter and a cat. g

ps - don't go crazy with your freedom :)

Anonymous said...

I've picked up (and set back down) that bobbin organizer several times in stores because I just can't get past the fact that its footprint is inefficient -- look at all that wasted space it has in the "hole".