cool ideas, thanks. Rubber fingers I use at work occasionally. I'll try that first since I'm used to having those on, and won't be anything to get used to. Thanks for the suggestions. Although I'm at the border on this quilt, I think I'll work on a different one for a couple of nights (dye sticks and fabric markers) and give my poor fingers a few days to get better. I find that quilts and blood do not go well together. Work today - (job) on the computer - is not pleasant. ugh!