I love hand quilting and have hand quilted some very large quilts. Like you I started out with a longer needle but was told by an instructor I would get better stitches going smaller. I switch between size 10 sharps and Betweens now depending on what I am working on. I think I get better stitches with the smaller needle. You might like Straw needles as they are longer. I have a friend who quilts with straw needles and loves them, I tried them and found them to be too long for me.

My favorite needles are Jeana Kimball's Foxglove Cottage Size 10 Betweens. Kimball's also come in Straw.

As far as thimbles go, I think I have tried about 20 different kinds. I ended up with just the cheaper over the finger metal ones. I have 3 sizes because my fingers swell, shrink, or stay normal during a project. Sometimes during an evening my fingers will shrink and my thimble will fly off and land across the room.

I do like the metal dot, but I kept losing it. Once you find your sweet spot on your finger they are quite nice.

It really is just trial and error.

Happy quilting!