May 31st, 2013

Author - Caroline Jones

Choosing a thimble, not so simple!

I'm called Fashion Revived and I sew, now we all know that 'proper' sewers use a thimble, just look at that mouse in Gloucester! I personally never got on with thimbles, I have a gorgeous silver one bought as a gift just in case I could get on with it, I couldn't so it sat in its little leather box all forlorn and unused.
Until that is I went to Malvern Quilt show a week ago and did a handquilting workshop, more of that another time.
At the workshop our very forthright tutor Ann Jermyn told us in no uncertain tems that we had to wear a thimble, she had loads to try including the two I have pictured with my silver number. Well under such duress I had to try.
The big tip is 'get used to wearing your thimble' put it on when you get up, wear it all day until it feels like a part of you, although I'd recommend taking it off to wash up or go to the bathroom!!
It took some time but now I wear a thimble most of the time when I'm hand sewing, the holes in the ends of my fingers are starting to heal up and I haven't got any blood on my work all week!! The pink open sided thimble on the left is good for quilting, the green silicon one on the right is good for most other things and has the advantage that the eye of the needle doesn't slip on it, so unfortunately the silver thimble centre stage is still sitting unused in its box. Still it's very pretty.

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