Hand quilting question

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with or opinions on the thimble
and technique used by Liuxin Newman (Thimblelady). I've never really done
any quilting by hand. I'm not sure why since I do needleturn applique and
some embroidery. I took a class a few years ago and learned the basics, but
never went any further. So while I have an idea of what to do, I have no
skill whatsoever. I've done some quilting over the last couple of days (not
pretty!) and suspect that it's going to aggravate some minor arthritis that
I have in the thumb and first two fingers of my right (dominant) hand. Ms.
Newman claims that her method keeps your hand in a more neutral position and
causes less stress on the hand. I saw her quilting at Houston a few years
ago, and while I was impressed with her skill, I was really amazed with the
$85 thimble! She now has a less expensive thimble that I would be willing
to buy if I thought it had some merit. Any comments? Should I just stick
to machine quilting? I'll still quilt most of my quilts by machine; I'd
just like to do some hand work.
--
Donna
http://community.webshots.com/user/donna9736

In article ,
"Donna973" wrote:

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with or opinions on the thimble
and technique used by Liuxin Newman (Thimblelady). I've never really done
any quilting by hand. I'm not sure why since I do needleturn applique and
some embroidery. I took a class a few years ago and learned the basics, but
never went any further. So while I have an idea of what to do, I have no
skill whatsoever. I've done some quilting over the last couple of days (not
pretty!) and suspect that it's going to aggravate some minor arthritis that
I have in the thumb and first two fingers of my right (dominant) hand. Ms.
Newman claims that her method keeps your hand in a more neutral position and
causes less stress on the hand. I saw her quilting at Houston a few years
ago, and while I was impressed with her skill, I was really amazed with the
$85 thimble! She now has a less expensive thimble that I would be willing
to buy if I thought it had some merit. Any comments? Should I just stick
to machine quilting? I'll still quilt most of my quilts by machine; I'd
just like to do some hand work.


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 G) instead of the top, you are doing yourself a huge favor.

--
Sandy in Henderson, near Las Vegas
my ISP is earthlink.net -- put sfoster1(at) in front
http://home.earthlink.net/~sfoster1

AKA Dame Sandy, Minister of Education

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.

--
--

Cheryl & the Cats
_ o _ o 0 0
( Y ) ( Y ) ( Y )
~ ~ U
Enness Boofhead Donut
Starting to wake from hibernation!
http://community.webshots.com/user/witchofthewest
catsatararatATyahooDOTcomDOTau

"Donna973" wrote in message
news : I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with or
opinions on the thimble
: and technique used by Liuxin Newman (Thimblelady). I've
never really done
: any quilting by hand. I'm not sure why since I do
needleturn applique and
: some embroidery. I took a class a few years ago and
learned the basics, but
: never went any further. So while I have an idea of what
to do, I have no
: skill whatsoever. I've done some quilting over the last
couple of days (not
: pretty!) and suspect that it's going to aggravate some
minor arthritis that
: I have in the thumb and first two fingers of my right
(dominant) hand. Ms.
: Newman claims that her method keeps your hand in a more
neutral position and
: causes less stress on the hand. I saw her quilting at
Houston a few years
: ago, and while I was impressed with her skill, I was
really amazed with the
: $85 thimble! She now has a less expensive thimble that I
would be willing
: to buy if I thought it had some merit. Any comments?
Should I just stick
: to machine quilting? I'll still quilt most of my quilts
by machine; I'd
: just like to do some hand work.
: --
: Donna
: http://community.webshots.com/user/donna9736
:
:

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.
--
Bonnie
NJ
"Donna973" wrote in message
news
I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with or opinions on the thimble
and technique used by Liuxin Newman (Thimblelady). I've never really done
any quilting by hand. I'm not sure why since I do needleturn applique and
some embroidery. I took a class a few years ago and learned the basics,
but never went any further. So while I have an idea of what to do, I
have no skill whatsoever. I've done some quilting over the last couple of
days (not pretty!) and suspect that it's going to aggravate some minor
arthritis that I have in the thumb and first two fingers of my right
(dominant) hand. Ms. Newman claims that her method keeps your hand in a
more neutral position and causes less stress on the hand. I saw her
quilting at Houston a few years ago, and while I was impressed with her
skill, I was really amazed with the $85 thimble! She now has a less
expensive thimble that I would be willing to buy if I thought it had some
merit. Any comments? Should I just stick to machine quilting? I'll
still quilt most of my quilts by machine; I'd just like to do some hand
work.
--
Donna
http://community.webshots.com/user/donna9736

Cats wrote:
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.

--
--

Cheryl & the Cats
_ o _ o 0 0
( Y ) ( Y ) ( Y )
~ ~ U
Enness Boofhead Donut
Starting to wake from hibernation!
http://community.webshots.com/user/witchofthewest
catsatararatATyahooDOTcomDOTau

"Donna973" wrote in message
news : I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with or
opinions on the thimble
: and technique used by Liuxin Newman (Thimblelady). I've
never really done
: any quilting by hand. I'm not sure why since I do
needleturn applique and
: some embroidery. I took a class a few years ago and
learned the basics, but
: never went any further. So while I have an idea of what
to do, I have no
: skill whatsoever. I've done some quilting over the last
couple of days (not
: pretty!) and suspect that it's going to aggravate some
minor arthritis that
: I have in the thumb and first two fingers of my right
(dominant) hand. Ms.
: Newman claims that her method keeps your hand in a more
neutral position and
: causes less stress on the hand. I saw her quilting at
Houston a few years
: ago, and while I was impressed with her skill, I was
really amazed with the
: $85 thimble! She now has a less expensive thimble that I
would be willing
: to buy if I thought it had some merit. Any comments?
Should I just stick
: to machine quilting? I'll still quilt most of my quilts
by machine; I'd
: just like to do some hand work.
: --
: Donna
: http://community.webshots.com/user/donna9736
:
:

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.

--
--

Cheryl & the Cats
_ o _ o 0 0
( Y ) ( Y ) ( Y )
~ ~ U
Enness Boofhead Donut
Starting to wake from hibernation!
http://community.webshots.com/user/witchofthewest
catsatararatATyahooDOTcomDOTau

"Bonnie NJ" wrote in message
nk.net...
: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.
: --
: Bonnie
: NJ
: "Donna973" wrote in message
: news : I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with or
opinions on the thimble
: and technique used by Liuxin Newman (Thimblelady). I've
never really done
: any quilting by hand. I'm not sure why since I do
needleturn applique and
: some embroidery. I took a class a few years ago and
learned the basics,
: but never went any further. So while I have an idea of
what to do, I
: have no skill whatsoever. I've done some quilting over
the last couple of
: days (not pretty!) and suspect that it's going to
aggravate some minor
: arthritis that I have in the thumb and first two fingers
of my right
: (dominant) hand. Ms. Newman claims that her method
keeps your hand in a
: more neutral position and causes less stress on the
hand. I saw her
: quilting at Houston a few years ago, and while I was
impressed with her
: skill, I was really amazed with the $85 thimble! She
now has a less
: expensive thimble that I would be willing to buy if I
thought it had some
: merit. Any comments? Should I just stick to machine
quilting? I'll
: still quilt most of my quilts by machine; I'd just like
to do some hand
: work.
: --
: Donna
: http://community.webshots.com/user/donna9736
:
:
:

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 in CA
annerudolph AT comcast DOT net
Disclaimer: Any errors in spelling, fact, or tact are transmission errors.
http://community.webshots.com/user/annerudolph3
http://www.frappr.com/rctq
http://annerudolph.home.comcast.net/anne.htm


Donna973 wrote:
I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with or opinions on the thimble
and technique used by Liuxin Newman (Thimblelady). I've never really done
any quilting by hand. I'm not sure why since I do needleturn applique and
some embroidery. I took a class a few years ago and learned the basics, but
never went any further. So while I have an idea of what to do, I have no
skill whatsoever. I've done some quilting over the last couple of days (not
pretty!) and suspect that it's going to aggravate some minor arthritis that
I have in the thumb and first two fingers of my right (dominant) hand. Ms.
Newman claims that her method keeps your hand in a more neutral position and
causes less stress on the hand. I saw her quilting at Houston a few years
ago, and while I was impressed with her skill, I was really amazed with the
$85 thimble! She now has a less expensive thimble that I would be willing
to buy if I thought it had some merit. Any comments? Should I just stick
to machine quilting? I'll still quilt most of my quilts by machine; I'd
just like to do some hand work.

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.
--
Donna
http://community.webshots.com/user/donna9736

"Donna973" wrote in message
news
I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with or opinions on the thimble
and technique used by Liuxin Newman (Thimblelady).

Cool! A new notion! I don't have that one. g 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


"Donna973" wrote in message
. ..
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.
--
Donna
http://community.webshots.com/user/donna9736

"Donna973" wrote in message
news
I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with or opinions on the
thimble and technique used by Liuxin Newman (Thimblelady).

I actually do have a Roxanne thimble.g 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
http://community.webshots.com/user/donna9736

"KJ" wrote in message
news:h7QGg.148330$1i1.49228@attbi_s72...
Cool! A new notion! I don't have that one. g 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