My DD gave me a beautiful pattern for a pin cushion, way too complicated for me to try to make, with a little strawberry side piece for keeping needles sharp.
Dear child thought she was ordering a lovely pincushion from the Internet but what arrived was just a pattern!!!
The strawberry needs emery - where would I buy that???
I certainly won't use walnut shells as the mice around here will eat anything. Or hair. I'm sure that's nice but my own hairbrush creeps me out. Lanolin is a little oily; that's why it is so good in those wood dusters.
Right now I use cute little china dishes for the different kinds of pins, and a cute little old catnip mouse for the needles, but I keep the catnip mouse in a box so real mice won't get it.
Between the stray coffee beans and the catnip mouse they'd be really wacked out!