Met a lovely lady in Jo-Ann's the other day and was complaining about my sore fingers from trying to hand quilt. She is a quilting teacher and she suggested using Milliner's needles instead of the tiny needle that I have been using. She also suggested buying "Thimble-It" - little adhesive finger pads - instead of a thimble.
Somehow I bought the wrong needles. I switched to a longer needle which worked much better than the tiny one. The "Thimble-It" pads are great! They are small enough so they are not in the way, and they work just like a thimble.
What a difference in my quilting, and no more sore fingers.