I use the pad. I had to read "That Perfect Stitch" to learn how to use the Roxanne thimble. She recommends the pad of the finger, and once I started using her method my stitches came out better.

Deidre McElroy, Roxanne's daughter, claims that using the top of your finger is ergonomically bad for your hand. I don't know if that's true, but I do know I don't have any hand problems when I quilt.

Janet

I don't quilt in a frame, so I like to use a tailor's thimble. It's an open-end thimble and I love it. Here's a site that shows them.

http://www.csosborne.com/no510.htm

When I needed to learn to hand quilt for a specific project, I began a long search (many $$$) for what, to me, was a thimble that was comfortable. I finally ended up using the little leather pads that you stick onto your finger, placing it in the perfect spot. These I love. They last me quite a while too and price-wise are reasonable. I've been using them happily for about six years now. I've turned several friends onto them too. They fit under long nails, are fine without long nails, don't shift, don't squeeze, all the things I disliked about other choices.

LOL. I use those too, because I quilt in a frame. I put it on my thumb and it lets me quilt away from myself. :)

Janet

I use the ThimbleLady stainless steel thimble and love it. I migrated from using the top of my finger to the pad and do find it much more comfortable. The s/s thimble is about $30. They have them in sterling silver as well but even though I did wear a hole in the original one I bought I decided to continue with the stainless as it is a stronger metal than sterling. If you go to their website they explain how to measure for the correct size for you. I use my middle finger for pushing and use the M/L size and it works very well.

I use these cheap ones from Hobby Lobby (though I recently stocked up at a quilt show)

http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/thimble-714303/

I get the small ones - I have small fingers, but they fit pretty snugly. I like it that way, though. They're flexible, so they don't hurt my finger or slip off.

And I can lose one without having a total heart attack.

Believe it or not, I tested several other thimbles (but not any over $15) at that quilt show, and stuck with the cheapo ones I already used. For the price, they can't be beat, and I preferred the feel.

The Thimblelady thimble is also available in plastic, which is nice if you want to try it out first.

Janet

I have 2 Roxanne thimbles that I got at my LQS and I love them. They are sized to fit your finger and they are very comfortable. I think I paid $50 each for them

I just found this post, sorry k. I was taught the only finger you use a thimble on is the middle finger, not the index. And I LOVE my Roxanne thimble. I can forget it's there, and it is open on the top so that I can have long fingernails too. They are a bit pricy, but worth every penny!!! K3n also recommends them highly.

I never could get used to using a thimble, so Im not much help. But I do collect them!