The first quilt that I quilted, which was about 5 years ago, was done one stitch at a time and it was a learning experience. Then I found a friend/neighbor who handquilts and I asked her about thimbles. I was impressed with the number of stitches she could get on a needle! So I started trying a number of different types.... got a drawer full, and most of them never leave the drawer now. I have the 2 favorites that I mentioned earlier (Roxanne and the deeply recessed thimble put out by Colonial) and also I forgot, I used the Clover thimble that looks like Roxanne's but is MUCH cheaper. Now I am able to get more stitches on my needle and keep moving right along. It's very enjoyable. But that said, everybody is different.