curved safety pins for basting

I don't like the curved pins at all. I use #2 pins with those plastic "thingies" on them. There is a little tool that will help you open and close the pins with the colorful plastic "thingies." Unfortunately I don't have the packaging anymore, so I don't know what these "thingies" are really called. I'm sure someone else knows what I'm talking about.

I love to wander through old quilt magazines when I'm trying to settle my busy little mind for sleep. Last night, I was in QNM Dec '97 and saw some guidance from Debra Wagner. Here's what she said about safety pins on making them sharp - (She is speaking of the little red strawberry-shaped emery bag often attached to an ordinary tomato pincushion.) "There is a right and wrong way to use the strawberry. Insert the pin point and compress the berry to compact the emery. Rotate the pin point to sharpen it and remove the oil coating. The key is in the compression of the emery. Unless you press firmly on the strawberry, the pin point pushes the emery out of the way and is unaffected." If I had spent $ 10 for 65 pins, I guess I would have to try her idea. After, of course, I went out and banged a few trash can lids. Polly

"Martha" wrote > Hello!

I just bought some more bulk pins for the girls to use in classes. They came in boxes by the gross (144 per box) from the dry cleaners, and I got eight boxes this time round. When the pins get blunt or bent we buy more pins.

It may not be in keeping with the spirit of recycling, but it beats trying to sharpen a couple of hundred pins a week one at a time in a tiny little emery bag. (Gotta feel sorry for the bag lol) I keep the emery bag for my needles.

We keep a single collection of at least 1000 sharp pins and every one just borrows them. Anyone caught returning bent/blunt pins after use is subject to communal flogging with used tea bags! Throw them out, don't leave them to annoy others.

A few weeks ago SOMEONE sneaked some pins back that were all mixed sizes. So for the next week every class has to help me sort pins as "punishment" rofl so they learn what a PITA it can be

And of course there's the dart sharpener idea someone mentioned here. I want to try this, but haven't made it to the sporting goods store.

Also disliked the curved pins- so fat! I much prefer the 1" brass pins, but no brand name. They came in a 1-pound box, IIRC. 65 pins aren't enough. Roberta in D

"Polly Esther" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com...

I wonder if the old diaper pin/hair trick would work. My grandmother told me to run the tip of the safety pin through my hair when the pin balked at going through the diaper......worked every time. The pin went through the diaper like buddah. Of course that was only for one or two pins to a diaper, not a gazillion to a basted quilt.

Val

Hi MArtha

I too bought curved p> Hello!