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Sunday, October 28, 2007

More on the Thimbles

A friend was visiting and when I showed her my thimbles she thought that all but four of them might be silver. One of the others could be brass. Three of them are new aluminum. The big one she claimed is a thumb thimble which is how some people quilt. It does, in fact, fit perfectly on my thumb but I can't imagine quilting that way. I am wondering if I should try to clean the other ones to see if they are actually silver. I know less than nothing about thimbles, or silver for that matter, so any advice would be helpful. After watching Antiques Road Show I am reluctant to clean anything, even my house. Lol.

12 comments:

Lindah said...

Oh! I need to see that Antiques Road Show about not cleaning the house! :->

Blessings,
Linda H

Ali Honey said...

May I quote you on the last part about not cleaning the house! Love that.
You can now have a thimble on every finger.

Donna said...

I prefer the tarnished silver on thimbles, but its completely a personal preference. They will tarnish if left in the air, so if you clean them (use a good paste made for cleaning silver found in the cleaning supplies aisle of the stores), they should be placed in sealed plastic bags or in a cupboard/china cabinet with a door to prevent significant air circulation by them.... They'll still tarnish over time, but it significant slows the process....

dot said...

Oh how I like the thought of not cleaning my house, I am in the process of antiqueing it. That certainly put a smile on my house.

Judy said...

I think I should start watching Antique Road Show if it will stop me from cleaning my house...that would give me another day to play!!

xo

Pam said...

I have a couple of silver thimbles. Sometimes the silver ones have a little silversmith mark on them. I don't think it hurts to clean silver -- just houses - LOL

Bloom said...

I have never thought of the benefits of leaving a house in it's 'lovingly used' condition for posterity. Yes, I think I will hold onto that thought today and clean nothing!

Libby said...

Who can ever forget the woman on Antiques Roadshow who cleaned the conquistador helmet with lemon Pledge *yikes* Most reputable jewelers would be willing to take a look to see if there's a hallmark to indicate silver and advise you on whether to clean or not, and if so - how. What a terrific find.

meggie said...

Brought a smile to my face, I often think I should have been born to wealth. Someone else to clean house sounds wonderful.
Very interesting to think one of the thimbles could be a thumb thimble.

Ann said...

Joyce, been catching up on some of my blog reading and Love the orange apron! Of course, I have developed a love for the color orange over the last year. Just finished an orange quilt(pic on my blog). The poem is really nice. Can't wait to see your finished project!

Rose Marie said...

I have silver earrings that I clean using the sink with very hot water, a piece of tin foil and dish detergent. Just place the thimbles on top of the foil and if they are silver (and you cannot find any trademarks) they will become shiny. It doesn't hurt to clean silver.

KC Quilter said...

Amen to not cleaning the house!!! There are too many other fun things to do, huh?