Well Kept Secret

In this past year or so my trusty ol' thimble has had a good [hand quilting] work out.

First there was Son#4 and DIL#4's Wedding Quilt:

Then there was the 2020 Scrappy Pandemic Quilt that was thrown together as a way of getting my head around our first Lockdown (also known as Save My Sanity Quilt):

And the Let's-try-out-this-block-to-see-if-we-like-it-but-now-it's-too-good-not-to-do-something-with-even-if-I-did-mess-it-up Quilt:

The ill-fated Pinwheel Quilt (not yet finished but I promise it will soon be):

After that came Son#5 and DIL#5's Wedding Quilt:

And then a baby quilt for the same couple before they moved to the States:

Finally, there was the quilt for Son#4 and DIL#4 when, upon moving into the mortgage market, they jokingly commented that they needed a quilt for every bed (they have since added another bed to their house but I'm not sure they'll be getting another quilt from me - actually they don't have this one yet but hopefully once Lockdown lifts ...):

With the result that my trusty ol' thimble developed holes that did not protect my fingers from needles:

Those dark spots in the photo: they're holes. From repeated contact with needles. As a result, needles now go straight through unless I'm careful to place the thimble in such a way that the holes are on the side of my finger that doesn't come in contact with the needle.

After trying a couple of different thimbles (some not so inexpensive either) that were less than satisfying, I examined my quilting technique and discovered that I actually push the needle through the top of the fabric with the side of my finger.

Lightbulb moment: I do not need a thimble with a protective end - in fact, I don't need an end at all. Those leather thimbles with just a metal pad at the end, no good for me. Ditto for the silicone thimbles (that I ended up giving to The Most Adorable Granddaughter#2 or #3 or both).

This was when I discovered tailor's thimbles: relatively cheap, open ended (therefore no more broken nails either), and they do the job quite nicely.

I'm just wondering why these are not more well-known or used in the quilting world.

By the way, I took DH's advice and bought several of them so that I am, hopefully, never again in the situation where I have no thimble.

Everyone has their favourite, but for me, it's a tailor's thimble from now on.