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.

thanks for letting us know the tip

Great tips- thanks!

Thank you for the information.

Love the idea of those thimble things. I just looked it up b/c I haven't seen them.
Thanks for the tip!! My fingers get sore too.

Good to know! Thanks!

I never could get the hang of those teeny tiny needles. Gee, just threading them will give you a headache. People who can manage those things have my respect - I can hardly keep a hold on one, much less sew with it! :lol:

I've heard that the milliner's needles are favored for applique so I bought some of them - maybe I will try them for hand quilting, too. Thanks! :)

I use a nickle plated dimple with sticky underneath that adheres to your finger. I tried the thimble it first, but had trouble with it sliding. When I get a chance to unpack tomorrow, I'll let you know the name of this stuff, but it is hard to find, and I had to order it online. They carry the ones without dimples, but once again, your needle slides. This is great cuz it's like having a thimble that doesn't encase your hand.

I took a suggestion with those teeny tiny needles and threaded them five at a time and stuck them to a magnet on my Ott lamp. It took me over an hour to do just 5 of them cuz you can't even use a needle threader since the eye is so small. Forget that one! :roll:

cannot get on with a thimble love the pads -- if you use size 9 milliners needle[sometimes called straw] they will take a lot of the beads ---i bend a beading needle very quickly but not the milliners-- my favorite is---richard hemming & son large eye needles made in england black with a red lable and what looks like a phoenix on it