Originally Posted by feline fanatic
Like so many others posted, LQS needs to cater to the many, not the few. Really all you need for handquilting is quilting betweens and thread. You don't even need a thimble, I only use one part of the time. In fact there are a lot of us here on the QB that are "fingernail" quilters. We push the needle through with our fingernail.
Feline, you speak right from my heart. I stopped using a thimble because it was impossible to find one that worked for me. I changed my quilting technique a little bit and I don't need a thimble any more.
We seem so have a very similar situation here in Germany compared to yours in US. It's getting harder and harder to find special hand quilting thread, high quality battings and fabrics (at the moment I really don't have an idea where I should buy the solids I need...). But I am sure I will never stop hand quilting because of that. It is too important for me.