When I first started sewing and doing needle work like embroidery, my paternal grandmother gifted me two thimbles. One was hers and well worn, the other was brand new and silver. She told me that I needed a thimble because it would make sewing much easier and would protect my fingers from calluses and cuts. She was probably right.
I still have these two thimbles, but to be honest, I actually hated using one. I tried for the longest time to get comfortable having a metal hat on my finger. I usually did not wear the thimble all the time, rather I just put it on for a moment when I had a tough, stubborn stitch to get through layers of fabric.
My paternal grandparents are the ones who nurtured my interest in the sewing/knitting/crocheting arts. Grandma taught me how to knit and crochet. Grandpa was a tailor who helped me with the intricate details of sewing like the best way to match plaids, especially around pockets.
He also taught me how to cut/design a pattern to fit a specific person. This came in handy as my maternal grandmother had scoliosis, so when I made her dresses, I had to make one side of the dress two to three inches shorter than the other side without it looking weird. Thanks to my grandfather, I was able to accomplish these designs. I have written about my grandfather’s tailor shop on Delancey Street. See blog below.)
The gifts of the two thimbles were part of that nurturing and encouragement. I kept them close in my sewing basket for those times when I did need them. But after a while, I put them in a safe place, because I did not want to lose them.
My printer’s box and almost all my thimbles.
Eventually the two thimbles became the start of my thimble collection. It is not large, about 60 thimbles in all. Although I have not purchased a thimble in years, I still have them on display in my kitchen’s printer’s box – the perfect spot for tiny collections.
Printer’s boxes were popular about 35 years ago, when printers went from hot type to computer generated type. As a journalism student, I actually learned to set type and had to memorize where the different letters and spacers and numbers were kept in this box. I still remember some. My first cousin gave me my printer’s box as a gift. It was the perfect for me for my journalism background and for my thimbles.
Most of my thimbles came from places I visited. They were the perfect item to remember a trip, as they did not cost too much and were convenient to carry. I have thimbles with Disney characters; others showing famous sites like Golden Gate Bridge or the Alamo or Mount Vernon; some depict cities like New Orleans. Most are from different states in the USA that I visited, but others come from other countries like Budapest, Hungary; Dominica; Spain. I even have three thimbles from NASA! Two depict the space shuttle, and one shows an astronaut floating in Space.
A close up of my printer’s box, you can see my three Nasa thimbles and the top left is my limoges one.
Some thimbles are so lovely with hand painted landscapes or designs. One is made of cloisonné, another is from Limoges. I actually have a little sewing machine from Limoges in my printer’s box. I am sure my Mom got them for me as they are pink and red. I would have purchased blue! But my Mom often got me items in the warm tones.
The case holding my Spanish scissors and thimble.
I do have one other special thimble purchased for me by my parents. It is housed in a red leather box with a pair of scissors. Inside the box is marked with the words, Artes De Toledo. I believe my parents purchased this set for me when they went to Spain about 30 years ago. Toledo has a history of making both swords and damascene metal inlay.
My scissors and thimble are definitely Spanish! They have the look of damascene metal inlaying, but with colored inlay. I know that Toledo is famous for its steel work. But I have never seen anything else like it, so I googled Spanish scissors and found scissors very similar to mine. They were labeled “Toledo antique embroidery scissors”. Makes sense, as I used my set for embroidering as well. I will say that mine is in much better shape than the ones shown on Pinterest! There were even four cases with matching scissors and thimbles, similar to mine! All from the 1920s and 1930s. Which makes me wonder, where exactly this set came from!
I have not looked at my thimble collection for years. I see them in the printer’s box, but I don’t really look at them and remember when I purchased them. The special case from Toledo, I keep up in my sewing room, closed and put away. Thus, I must say thank you to AtticSister and her blog post about a thimble case, which sparked my search for my red leather box and to look more closely at my thimbles. You can read her blog here: https://atticsister.wordpress.com/2018/10/12/antique-walnut-thimble-case/
Earlier blogs I wrote about sewing.
https://zicharonot.com/2015/10/10/12-delancey-street-and-my-family/
https://zicharonot.com/2014/01/29/my-birthday-sewing-machines/
https://zicharonot.com/2015/12/27/why-i-gave-away-a-bit-of-my-moms-memory/
zicharonot 
It’s very special for me to see your thimble collection and to read what you wrote about it. I too have one, and it started with my grandmother who was head fitter at the 28 shop at Marshall Field in Chicago. LOVED this!
So glad you enjoyed. My grandfather had a tailor shop. My collection is for me but reminds me of my grandparents.
That’s how I feel, too. Beautiful.