to keep the pins sharp?? I leave quilting stuff here at the cottage in the winter. I am on a salt water river and we do have a lot of fogs, Would the steel wool start to rust?? The pins are stainless steel but I don't think the steel wool is.

Has anyone tried this at the shore?? -- Mim

One can buy those moisture absorber things -

I've had steel wool get rusty just being under my sink.

Haven't tried the steel wool yet. I'm planning to...:) but I would not leave
the pins in it for a long time specially if there is salt water nearby and/or
humidity. I would also change the steel wool on a regular basis just to be safe from rust.

Steel wool will rust, so I've never heard of it being used to prevent rust on something. Stainless steel, brass, and nickel-plated brass pins are supposed to be rustproof.

I use sand. Works pretty well.

i think it would rust

YES, but you can also use an SOS pad instead. then place the cushion in a tupperware bowl or ziploc for the winter..should be fine!

Yes, it will rust.

I make little emery bags to clean my pins and needles if they get a little rough spot on them.

If you can get some raw wool that's only had the first wash, it's still full of lanolin and that's really good stuff for pincushions. :)

For the sake of experimentation I just went in my sewing room and made
one with 2 SOS pads, rolled in batting then covered the whole thing with
muslin. Nothing fancy. The pins do get sharper but I don't think I'll leave my
pins in there. You have to work the pins back and forth a few times or
should I say several times if they are really dull but it does work. A lot of
work to sharpen a pin. LOL

Maybe I'll try emery next. The little tomato is completely useless. Don't
waste your money on that one. I read that they don't even have emery in
them now. Pfft.

As I mentioned up above sand works well and is cheap. It is very abrasive, we use it to store our garden hand implements in, helps reduce rust and as you put metal into sand and remove it it will sharpen your edges. If it is completely dry there is no danger of smell or mold. It is also heavy enough you aren't always bumping it off the table or such. Try it, you'll like it!