Hand quilting question

I have one of her thimbles, but I've found that I can't use it. :( I hope you have better luck if you do decide to give it a try. The biggest part of her more ergonomic approach to hand quilting has to do with how you push the needle. If you use the *pad* of your finger (in a thimble, of course ) instead of the top, you are doing yourself a huge favor. :)

I no longer quilt myself, but a friend has her thimble (the silver $85 one) and she LOVES it. They are made to your measurements for comfort, and C swears she cannot feel hers on her hand when she sews.

I have her thimbles and they are my favorite for handquilting. I purchased the inexpensive one first to find if it worked for me (I have quite a large collection of thimbles that didn't ). After using the thimble and really liking it, I purchased the silver thimble as a birthday present to myself. The LQS offers a birthday discount to regular customers - so I got the thimble at a reduced price!

I have arthritis in my hands and find I can quilt without pain. To improve your stitches, I suggest that you just keep at it and your stitches will improve. Be sure to use her needles, they are more flexible and longer than the typical quilting needles. I was able to hand quilt on batik fabric without problems when I used the correct needle.

I have her silver thimble and just love it. It stays on the finger well because it is made to measure and the design allows for pretty long fingernails!! I know Liuxin (she has stayed next door at my quilting neighbour and I took her needle turn applique class there). I use the thimble for my hand quilting. For her delicate wallhangings, Liuxin uses the finest batting, so it is possible to get the tiniest quilting stitch.

-- Cheers Bronnie Oz

I was recommended Regal brand needles as even better with her thimble. Haven't had a chance to try them yet myself. Reportedly same manufacturer but superior materials. ????

I just bought a couple of packets of the Regal applique needles (10's and 12's) but haven't opened them yet.

I tried her method in a class and really couldn't get excited about it.

I use the Roxanne thimble (almost as expensive though) and took a class with Roxanne's daughter.

One thing I learned in the class is that if you have a hyper-extended thumb ("hitch hiker's thumb", the thumb curves backwards a bit when you extend it) that you have to use the pad closer to the tip of the thumb to rock your needle against -- harder to explain that to show.

Anne > I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with or opinions on the thimble

Thank you all for the help. I've decided that it's worth the price of the plastic thimble to give it a try. I've ordered one on line and have put my hand quilting aside until it arrives. I've got a felted wool table runner that I'm stitching by hand to keep me occupied in the meantime.

Cool! A new notion! I don't have that one. I do have a silver Roxanne thimble though. When I hand quilt (rarely) I do enjoy wearing it. I hope you like your new thimble. Did you get a video too? She has a unique method of pushing the fabric up from the bottom to load her stitches if I remember correctly. KJ

I actually do have a Roxanne thimble. I got it while taking an applique class a few years ago, and have used it extensively for that. The only problem is that they fit those things really tightly, and with the slight swelling in my middle finger now, it's too small for comfort. I went to the Thimblelady website and she says that, if you learn well from books (which I do), you really don't need the video. I managed to get the book used for a good price, so will see if I can figure it out from that. The book (new) is hard to get at the moment; it seems to be on backorder awaiting a new printing. She also has a little video clip on her website showing the motion. It's not a teaching video, but you can at least see what she's doing. I'm trying to keep the expense of this endeavor to a minimum until I see if I like the process. I think hand quilting is beautiful and would love to be able to use it on some projects.

Donna,

In the class I took with Dierdra she said that they would exchange thimbles that no longer fit for whatever reason. Why not contact her and see if you can trade up a size?

or snipped-for-privacy@roxanneproducts.com NAYY, just an extremely satisfied customer :-)

Anne > I actually do have a Roxanne thimble. I got it while taking an applique

Oh, thank you Anne! I'll definitely give it a try. There is no apparent wear on the thimble, despite quite a bit of use. It's a great thimble and very comfy when it fits! What a great group this is; somebody always knows something useful.

They will exchange.

Though when I did this at their PIQF booth they did yell at me first. Not nice at all.

marcella

They yelled at you?!? Yikes! I went to the website and it does state that a thimble is exchangeable any time until it shows wear. Their event calendar shows that they will be at the PA Nat'l Quilt Extravaganza in a few weeks. I'll bring the thimble along and see if they'll trade it in. I hope they don't yell at me. If they do, I'll wait until I have my new thimble in my hot little hand and then I'll yell back. Bravery is not my strong suit; nor is yelling....

Well, of course you do! I learn well from books too. So I'll be interested to hear how your new endeavor works out. My Roxanne thimble is a little tight right now....as is everything else I own. But that's another story. KJ

Yell at you? Shame on them. I didn't know they would exchange them either. Mine's been used. I'll have to take it with me to the next show they're at and see what they say. Thanks for the info. KJ

My luck was better, Marcella. I returned mine in Houston one year, and they didn't yell at me at all. They did politely ask why I didn't want it, but that's all. My big problem with that style of thimble is that, since I push the needle with the side of the pad of my finger, the thimble tends to swivel around on my finger. That doesn't work well with a thimble that has a cut-out for a nail!

Howdy!

My favorite thimbles are a bit large sometimes. Other times my fingers are a little bit fatter (early morning) and the thimbles fit just fine. I put a little rolled up piece of masking tape on the tip of my thimble finger to keep that thimble from slipping off.

Maybe having a thimble in the "perfect" size and then one that's

1/2 a size larger or smaller is the way to go, even tho' these specialized things are Expensive. I'm cheap (but I'm easy) and don't have any joint/arthritis problems so far and haven't invested in the alternate style thimbles; tried them on, didn't like them (that day). But ... things change, huh?

Good luck!

Ragmop/Sandy--professional handquilter ;-D

Must have been somebody having a bad day then. They've always been nice to me. And super patient with my girlfriend who went round and round and round before finally deciding on which thimble to buy :-)

Anne > They will exchange.