The Thimble Lady

A quilt design image from The ThimbleLady.

                                                          

Recently several of us did a purge of our sewing areas.  When this event does happen great things can be refound or moved out and moved on to someone else.  My friend Carrol D did a purge and gave me pounds of old "Patch Work and Quilting" magazines from Australia.  The newest edition dates to around 2005.  The time travel through quilt time was interesting as I began quilting around 2003.

Liuxin Newman

 
 In a 2001 edition a feature article interviewed  Liuzin Newman.  She was very familiar with sewing from having grown up in China.  Life's journey brought her to Australia where her adventures in quilting began.  She taught herself to hand piece and to quilt by hand.  Soon, as all hand quilters notice, the shoulder strain and callouses on the finger tips began.  She decided there had to be a better way!  She developed a hand quilting technique that relies on the folds of the quilt to push the needle through, not the fingers of the underneath hand.  Along with this technique she also developed a much improved quilting thimble.

 


 I've been able to use the quilters thimble that any quilt store sells.  It's by no means an expensive thimble.  I add the little sticky things for the other finger tips which protects against pokes and needles imbedding in my finger.  Her thimble comes in plastic, but the one style I envy is the silver, I don't desire the sterling silver thimble - plain silver is fine! (Joke). The dimples are very deep and there is no ridge top on it.  Of course the stitch count matters to hand quilters - trying to discover that Amish bloodline.  Along with her other products her surgical steel needle made have trouble getting my TSA inspections - especially in Frankfort.  (I've found Frankfort, Germany more stringent than many American airports.)  Her needle must be 3" long from the picture shown on her website.

Check out her website here.  Her applique work is extraordinary as well.   The pattern at the top is one of hers, of course, but she probably hand quilted it in a couple hours, as she finds her method not only healthier but quicker!   Several learning packages are also offered.  Do any of you know of this method or of a tutor?  Watch the video under the quilting learning package..... Check her out!