You bet! I have been known once to use my teeth but don't tell anybody. NOT a good idea! If it's possible to avoid going through intersecting seams, I would. Otherwise pliers are a good thing. :-)

Kay

I've done it on occasion. I try to avoid it at all costs.

Sure I have used a pliers, and Kay is right, those seams can get to you, and now my puller is pulled out and too weak I have had to use a larger needle and bigger stitches, hate that, Old Arthur is playing tricks with my hands and my puller. LOL Rene

I keep a pair of pliers in my "portable" sewing box so they're always handy. Lately tho I've just been avoiding those flippin seams!
Bon
:)

I have a little round, flat rubber circle that you can fold over a needle to pull it though.

I've yet to use it, mind you, but it looks like it will work pretty well when the time comes.

I have that rubber circle and seems like I need it every time. I just hand quilted a border with perle cotton and the piece of rubber almost didn't get it - but didn't even think about a pliers! I need to get a little pair to keep handy (and clean)!

A lovely group of ladies, The Huffine Quilters, showed me to use the little rubber finger guards that people use in offices. It's really used to handle paper, but it works great when needed to pull a needle. I wear it on my pointer finger and my thimble on my middle finger. They are very cheap, a dozen for about $2 and can be purchased at an office supply store.
Carolyn

All my friends use plyers. I haven't had to yet but I take less stitches than they do. Like you Rene I have Art near by and weak hands. Like Carolyn I use the fingers off of rubber gloves on my forefinger but I'll check out the finger guards at an office store, will look much nicer. Rene the finger grip really takes the strain off the hands, fingers and tendons. Thanks for all the info.
Jean

Machine Quilting finger grips made by Collins. I use these and they work great.

it's not what they are made for, but they work. i never thought to use them, but had to get them for my work at home job. I put hooks on fishing lures and these keep me from getting stuck in the figers too much and keep my fingers from getting too sore from pulling on the hooks. That is what made me think to use it on a needle.

Lynette

I have noticed that when I am hand quilting, and I really pile the stitches onto the needle, it is difficult to slide the needle through UNTIL I get the eye of the needle to enter the fabric. Sometimes I have to push it under with the thimble. As soon as the eye has entered the fabric, it seems to turn a corner and pull through much more easily. Then I just use my fingers to grip the needle and push it through. I have not had to use the rubbery disk "thread puller" much at all since this discovery.

I wear a rubber finger cot (rubber fingertips) on my first finger, the kind you get at office supply stores for turning pages. They are inexpensive, about $2.00 for a box of 12, and very comfortable. They come in different sizes, so open the box and try one on.
I never hand quilt without it.
Bluebars

I've tried many things, even my Teeth (shhh... my Mother would have had a fit if she had know). I've used the little rubber disk that Laura and allycaz9 mentioned. When I've used pliers after a while I find they mess with the needle. I've also used maryliz's method of pushing with a thimble until the eye of the needle enters the fabric. My favorite by far, is a hemostat( a surgical clamp: a surgical instrument that stops bleeding by clamping a blood vessel) if you can find one. It works similar to a pair of pliers but grips the needle and holds the needle until you release it. It looks like a cross between a pair of scissors and a pair of pliers. if you do a goole image search, you can see what I'm talking about. It is very easy to use, and I would be totally lost with out one.

Janice

Janice stole my thunder. I use a hemostat as well, left over from my nursing days. We called them Kelley clamps. I also use the tip of my thimble to push the needle through and the technique Maryliz uses. I seldom have to use anything, save when I was tying my puff quilt, OMGosh was it hard to get a needle through that and I used cotton yard for the thread. I like the clamps better than pliers as they don't slip, nor let go if your hand slips because they lock shut.

I have used pliers on occasion, and I have also used the flat of a pair of scissors or turned the piece upside down and used an old wooden piece of furniture to push the needle far enough so I could pull it through. Since I abhor metal thimbles, that's about all I thought I could do, but the piece of rubber, and especially the hemostat, sound better. But generally I avoid quilting in places where I might have to do a lot of pushing and pulling!