I laughed at your story. I too have a 10 lb. bag of crushed walnut shells, I also bought to fill pincushions. When I asked for it at Petsmart, the gal was puzzled when I asked if they had any smaller bags. I told her what I was using it for and she looked very surprised. I was thinking she thought I was nuts to make my own pincushions. Now I'm wondering if she knows what a pincushion is?