Hand quilting is all I have ever done. I have always used a PVC frame. Thimbles just don't work for me. I have to feel the needle. Finally got some rubber finger tips, cut the ends off to fit my fingers and I really like them. I probably could never be fingerprinted. I have stuck my fingers so much, callused over, and filed finger tips to the point that there is probably no pattern left to my fingers. Ever so often, I would stop quilting a few days to let my fingers heal. No longer with the rubber tips.