In Today's News: Terrified Quilting Newbie breaks silence!

I have 2 QI, and my favorite chocolate is Godiva's raspberry cordials.

Red Queen, how long did it take you to get used to wearing a thimble? And how did you get it to stay on? I don't have long nails, but even my stubbly ones seem to dislodge the thimble. How do you feel about the leather thimbles? Which finger of which hand wears the thimble? I remember my mother wearing one, but not where.

Nell in Austin

This is not me talking; it is Nancy Johnson-Srebo in her "Featherweight 221" book in her chapter on common machine problems (which can be applied to all but the electronic machines). She starts out by backing up in paraphrase what my engineer father told my mother and me: Use only Singer Oil in a sewing machine. All other lubricating oils are too heavy and will gum up the works. The way Nancy put it is "if a previous owner has used anything except the very best sewing machine oil there is a good chance it has oxidized over time," causing the machine to be sluggish. She says a solvent must be used to dissolve the gum, and recommends is "refined kerosene (parrafin in the U.K.)." She buys the clear type, known as "white kerosene," saying it is available in many auto service stations and other stores. Since it is sold mainly as fuel for wick-type oil lamps and portable heaters, it is highly flammable. Don't smoke while using it or put it near an open flame. Keep children away. Nancy says white kerosene is a superior solvent for petroleum-based oils and is a light oil itself. Another warning: keep your good fabrics away and be careful not to spill it on the table or carpet. Wipe your machine carefully after this cleaning and sew a seam or two on throw-away fabric -- and then throw it away. Wash your hands thoroughly before touching your clothes or the good fabrics you are sewing. On the infrequent occasions when my mother got oil on what she was sewing, she promptly rubbed corn starch into the spot, shook it out (in the yard) and rubbed more corn starch in until the spot was as near gone as she could make it. That was years ago, and better products to remove oil have surely been invented. I haven't done these things myself; I am just passing on others' wisdom.

Nell in Austin

"Pati Cook" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@mindspring.com...

Valerie, if you're a Pratchett fan may I direct you to alt.fan.pratchett? They're chocoholics and cat lovers over there as well!

Hi Nell, I'm not Her Majesty, but do wear a thimble. First make sure it is the right size. Second, try several different kinds. Some people really like the leather ones, some like different kinds. Personally I have found that the "bulk" ones sold at some stores fit me and work well......... which is good because I tend to rust thimbles out from the inside. sigh. I learned to use a thimble really well when I was working as an alterations tailor, on men's wear. It was either learn to use a thimble or lose a finger......... It is just practice. I am now uncomfortable picking up any kind of needle without a thimble, even for cross stitch or needle point. There are thimbles made that have a cut out for the finger nail. And the finger you wear it on is the middle finger of your dominant hand. (frequently the one that has a "pencil callous" on it, and the thimble actually fits onto the callous.)

Hope this helps.

Pati,> Red Queen, how long did it take you to get used to wearing a thimble? And

I am currently lurking there. It is so active, I'm having trouble keeping up. :)

Thanks for this Pati You know I have done quite a lot of quilting - and have never known which was the correct finger. Your saying it is the pencil callus finger specifies it completely. I have avoided hand quilting because of the pain!!! but I do like handwork. Now I will persevere in finding a fitting thimble and see how I get on. What luck! I am off to a quilt show next week. They certainly have a lot of thimbles!! Great. Thanks again.

In article , Pati Cook writes

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Nell, I'm not Red Queen, but I use a thimble for hand quilting, so I thought I'd chime in here. It took me some time to get used to wearing one; I kept wearing it and then using a different finger to push with! ;) However, persistence pays off.

The leather ones are the ones I started with, but I soon tired of the needle working its way through the leather to stab me.

I have fast-growing fingernails and can't wear a "normal" thimble because of them, so I've found a tailor's thimble to the be answer for me -- plus, it helps keep my thimble finger cool in warm weather. The tailor's thimble is completely topless and works better for me than the Roxanne's thimble (with a cutout for the nail) or similar ones; these jsut aren't comfortable for me.

In addition, I eventually switched to a sterling thimble, which tends to expand and contract with your finger in different weather conditions -- something the base metal thimbles don't do.

When you shop for a thimble, try it on and put your hand down--The thimble should stay on. (You usually end up with different sizes because your hands swell during the day.) The thimble should be on the finger with which you (ahem,) flip the bird. Any thimble that works is fine, the idea is to cushion the finger, not make a fashion statement. Some people press with the side of the thimble, some with the top---whatever works is fine. The point is, don't use it for a fumbling

5 minutes and then quit! Yes, it can be awkward at first, but within an hour you will be feeling better. You are "training" your hand to do something that will be 2nd nature in a very short time. Besides, if you have kids, it is a real pleasure to reach out and thimble rap one on the noggin when they misbehave. The truely evil RedQueen

Another bonus to using thimble. When it gets to be second nature, you'll end up forgetting about it. Makes a great conversation starter when you are paying the grocery cashier. Would I ever do that? ha! PAT, Queen of Everything

Judy Grevenites wrote: Cut for brevity ... one queen to another!

It's less active there than here! Sometimes it's busy sometimes not, the recent CCDE has boosted the volume a little.