Lynnie, I absolutely cannot sew with a thimble. It takes a week or so for my finger tips to callous up. Any kind of "bag balm" found in a feed store and maybe even WalMart will take the sting right out. Also, have had good luck with Aquaphor ointment made by Eucerin I believe. In CT, there are little adhesive, reuseable dots that you can buy. Can't say I've ever tried them but might be worth looking in to.00000