Oh I know I can buy the beads, Sharon... but I see them so often in the thrift store that I have put them on my list of things to look for! The thrill of the hunt is part of the fun. Hubby and I have a cheap date day every Sunday. He works so much that Sunday morning was the only "safe" time for us to plan anything together. So we go bowling at cheap rates a town about 10 miles over and then to two-three thrift stores on the way home.

Humidity will affect some pins even after a short period of time. I lived in the Houston area for many years and even with efficient air conditioning was still aware of high humidity.

I had cheap pins originally, but fortunately learned my lesson with my glue bottle. I have a super-fine tip attached to my Elmer's glue bottle. Instead of removing and washing it out every time I use it, I simply stick a pin in the hole to keep it clear and stop it from drying out. It fits perfectly. One day when I pulled the pin out of the bottle, I noticed that it was a bit rusty. Promptly threw the entire box of pins out and bought nickel-plated pins. They also glide though fabric smoother. The cheapo pins feel like sandpaper when they go through fabric.

I do this too.
 

This is what I do also and I'm so glad because it's been forever since I looked at the DJ blocks and triangles. I have tried writing in the seam allowance for Farmer's Wife with micropens but it takes me a while (they don't write very smoothly) and everything will be lost when the quilt is put together, anyway. My husband found some thick plastic bags nicer than ziplocks at his work and purchased some in several sizes for me since my sewing room is also the laundry room and everything is exposed to more humidity than the rest of the house. So far, so good...and it's been a decade. One of these days I may even get it together----fingers crossed.

I however, had my iron ruin several blocks from internal rust. I was not able to remove the streaks and had to remake several challenging blocks. I do hope you're able to save all of them and am sorry to hear of the rust issues.

Use a spritz bottle instead of the steam function of your iron. I haven't used the steam function since I scalded my fingers with the steam.