I've been sewing on my kitchen table without using a pin cushion because I couldn't find it, LOL! So I took a lint brush, the sticky kind, to gather up the straight pins instead of sticking my fingers. Works great!
A magnet is great especially if you spill pins on carpet.
By
03/30/2010
Another good method is to take a roll of duct (or any other type) tape and roll out a piece and fold it around backwards. Then roll the tape roll over where the pins are and it'll pick them all up.
I also do this with broken glass. Picks up almost all of those little slivers that you can't see. Then I use an old sponge and wipe up the rest, thowing the sponge in the trash after, because it's impossible to get all those slivers out of the sponge.
By
03/26/2009
When I worked at a thrift store I was I had to price out all of the sewing stuff. Can't begin to tell you how many times I poked myself with straight pins. I finally got wise and started using a magnet to pick them up.