I only buy pins that work on a magnet. Then I use a bingo marker magnet to catch them when I throw them. The bingo magnet goes in a big brass vase thingy with a pedestal that I can find at a glance even from across the room. I use a vintage machine so I don't have to worry about messing up the electronics so I put a sticky magnet on the machine to catch a few pins as I sew (probably not so good for the finish but I don't care)