| Gadget Archive |
This gadget will be given away during the Name Tag drawing by the Hospitality committee.
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Purchased from: Missouri Star Quilt Co. http://www.missouriquiltco.com |
I did not learn to sew with a thimble. It didn’t matter when all I really did was put in a hem or sew on a button. But when I was sewing down a binding, I found out how much that can beat up your fingertip, so I tried a thimble. What a failure. Whichever finger I put the thimble on, I could no longer sew with that finger. So a friend gave me a silicone fingertip thimble to try. That didn’t work any better, as it was too large for my fingertip and too stiff to mold around my finger.
Then I was given a Poke-A-Dot to try. Poke-A-Dots are less than an inch in diameter, so they do fit on the fingertip. They are textured, so they can hold on to the needle. They are unobtrusive enough that I can still sew with the finger I put one on. I don’t hand quilt, so I can’t say how they work for either the upper or lower finger. They do interfere with some non-sewing motions, such as picking up M&Ms (LOL!).
I grew up doing embroidery and cross stitch, which didn’t required me to use a thimble. Then I took-up quilting. I’ve poked my finger more times now than I did testing my blood sugar (LOL). I tried to use a thimble, but like Paula I was switching fingers. When I was putting the binding on a large quilt I really got tired of poking my fingers, and I knew I needed to do something. That’s when I tried the silicone fingertip thimble. With it being silicone I figured it would be flexible and would not be as obtrusive as a regular thimble, but I had the same problems with it as I did with a thimble.
Then I saw a Poke-A-Dots demo on You Tube and decided to try them (
http://www.youtube.com/user/MissouriQuiltCo?feature=g-all-u#p/u/28/c2IXLn45oJ8
), starts at 1:06). I got them and gave them a try. They are about
½ inch in diameter with a texture on top to help grip the needle. They also are re-useable. They worked better then the
thimble and the silicone thimble. I will continue to look for the prefect thimble or thimble substitute, but until I find it I
will be using a Poke-A-Dot. So if you see me around town with a red dot on my finger, you’ll know I’ve been working
on a quilt.
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