I like to use the finger cots, too. However, I seem to misplace them a lot. So, I cut up a balloon into small pieces and now have a good supply of needle pullers in many places! Betty D

I use a standard office rubber finger instead of a thimble, it gives some protection but I can still feel what I'm doing. A certain amount of caution is required , but since my hand quilting is very limited (I can't get the hang of the rocking motion and taking multiple stitches onto the needle, so I just do a stitch at a time) I find it works for me. I bought a job lot on ebay, so I won't be running out any time soon

I have just bought some rubber finger cones (Thimblettes) for helping with grip on free embroidery on the machine. Seem to work great without having to resort to whole gloves. Mind you I have big hands and the medium are large on me.

Yes, I've ruined a few needles with the hemostat. I'm an internist, not a surgeon. In fact, when I was a student, a chief of surgery told me NOT to go into surgery! He thought I had no "eye hand coordination" .
Video games weren't invented then. Now, the residents all play video games to practice for laparoscopy! Go figure.

I guess I've developed some eye-hand coordination since then, since I love hand quilting! Surgeons knots come in handy for sewing, too. Also for fishing, as evidenced in my picture! My daughter snags the bottom all the time and I end up cutting her monofilament and tying on new hooks!
Medicine comes in handy for all KINDS of hobbies!

Thanks for the laugh, Pat. I'm a nurse too. My first love was psych nursing but never ended up working in that area. I've done home care for the past 16 years.

I place a finger cot aroung my filled bobbins. It keeps the thread in place and when I drop one, it doesn't roll across the floor. Put it on only half way so you can see what color thread is on the bobbin. Love any product with dual duty. Love that word" condomminimums" Thanks for the laugh Betty Ann in Fl

pknord wrote:

I'm also a nurse, but have specialized in Psychiatric/Mental Health nursing for the last quarter of a century. In my quilting group up north in MI, we referred to the little finger cots as condomminimums, since that's what they resemble.

Pat in Rockport, TX

I noticed plier and hemostats being used for pulling needles thru. Yes, they work well, but I also noted they did scar up the needle or break the needle if you're too rough which I obviously was.

I noted you "quiltydoc" and I'm a nurse-let's hope YOU are doing the stitching and I'm just handing off instruments! LOL

I have found the best is still the finger 'cot' from office supply store (turned inside out to keep from unthreading the needle) still works the best for me. I can just leave it on my finger while quilting and it's 'there' when I need it!

Lynn, Houston

I love the vendor at the Quilt (or craft) shows that sells all the medical and dental tools that we love to use for sewing and crafting. And they carry lots of my favorite useful collection item--scissors!

Well, I'm a doctor and I realized that surgical hemostats are the perfect needle puller. Then, I noticed, they've started selling them in on line catalogs for just that same purpose!
The only problem is that they rough up the needle and can bend it if you aren't careful, but they've saved my fingers!
Michele

I bought a very thin paintbrush and when I got it home I realized that the little rubber protector they put on the brisel (sp? senior moment) was the perfect thing for pulling the needle thru my quilting. It is small and works wonderfully. Easy to lose if I am not careful! ritzy

Men come up with the most unique solutions to sewing problems lol

When DH and I did a lot of hand quilting together we had just started so we didn't know too much about anything ; and we really had a hard time pulling the thread through the fabric sometimes. After a few evenings, he brought in his needle-nosed pliers (the ones with a spring-action grip) which completely solved the problem. Since then we've used up several (or used and lost several ) and they've always worked great for us. They're not very expensive and look so ... innovative ... in the sewing basket.

Theresa