A Study of Thimbles

Let me just warn you from the get-go - this is a ridiculously trivial post.

My recent whining about sore digits led me to consider the ever-so-humble thimble. A couple of comments came in regarding methods of protecting fingers, and I so appreciate them.  I dug around to see what I had on hand.

This is the thimble I have been using. It is so worn that the needle often gets stuck in the same hole time after time. Why I don't break down and get out a better thimble, I do not know. I guess I just want to get all the use possible out of the thing. I try to slide it around a bit on my finger so that some other spot will do the work, but it always slips back.

I have a plethora of thimbles with similar holes that have poked all the way through. I may need an intervention; why I have held onto these used/useless thimbles?

That white one on the left can be worn either way, so I get double usage out of that style.

The sad fact is that I have a brand new one on hand that I ought to be using. Then I wouldn't have the grief I'm having with the current one.  

Maybe I could get just one more session's use out of it?

I suppose that is my thinking. I've never been one to be overly penurious, but I just hate to waste a bit of a perfectly good thimble. They only wear out in that one spot, after all.

I opened the new thimble. It feels tight, stiff and uncomfortable. Breaking in a new thimble is a new kind of aggravation.

It feels a bit more comfortable this way. Still tight, though.

Listen to me complaining because my thimble doesn't suit me.

Wonder what I'd do if I had real troubles??

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Hand-Quilting With Ease

I thought I would share a little tip with you today to make your hand-quilting endeavors a bit easier.If arthritis is an issue, this will definitely be useful, but anyone with difficulty gripping a needle and pulling it through can use this idea, also.

I keep this rubber thimble near my stitching for easy access when I need help completing stitches. It came in a package of three - S, M, and L. This is the large one because I use it on my thumb.

We all know that quilting needles are short little things; small needles help create the tiny stitches that we desire. The downside of that, however, is that with three stitches loaded onto such a short needle, the daggone thing is hard to pull through! My large fingers don't help matters, either. The rubber thimble is what I use to solve this problem.

In the photo above, I have three stitches on my needle and it's ready to pull through. If there is much thickness, like at intersections where several fabrics come together, I cannot easily get a grip on the needle. It's kind of like the needle is stuck in that thickness.

I slip the rubber thimble onto my thumb and between the two thimbles I grab the needle and easily pull  it through without any effort at all.

Once I've got it through the last stitch, I can then pull the needle and thread through the fabric, thus completing the process. It saves me lots of aggravation, and doesn't really take any extra time. It's not clumsy, even though it might look like it is.

I don't have to do this everywhere. Like in the pictures here, there is no excess thickness in this particular spot, so I wouldn't need the rubber thimble. Some of these intersections, though, are quite thick with fabrics, so those spots will require the extra 'umph' I need to get the job done.

Now, tomorrow, I will discuss this ratty thimble. Gripping stuff, I know. Pun intended...lol!

Happy Quilting, Friends!