I use safety pin covers and a Kwik Klip when I pin bast (no more sore fingers). I use the Kwik Klip to close the pins and to open them when I remove them. It's one of the best quilting investments I've ever made. The clips are tedious to put on, but once they are on you never take them off. I also always store my safety pins open. When you are ready to pin just shake a clump of pins over the area you are working on and they fall right apart. The first site below shows how they work, but the second site has better prices. If you pin baste, you'll wonder how you ever got along without these tools. :D :D :D
http://www.patchworks.com/fingertips.htm
http://www.quiltinaday.com/shoponlin...lay.asp?i=1621