This thread should be useful
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=95978.0and this one
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=178221.0As LOs can have finger foods from age 6 months try not to worry too much. You can offer something that you are having for your own meal, they like to see that they are getting the same as mummy. It's up to you how and when to offer the finger foods. You could offer them at a normal solids meal time and if you wanted have a puree ready for after the finger food has been tried. Or you could continue to offer the puree/mashed/lumpy food at the regular times and offer finer foods when you have a meal as an 'extra'.
There isn't much an 8 month old can't have, avoid the normal things like salt, sugar, honey, and choke-hazard size/shapes (like whole grapes, cherry toms, whole nuts). I adapted my cooking so that meals were suitable for LO, larger chunks of vegetables, no salt, so we could eat the same. If you worry about the size I always considered bigger to be safer. With a finger sized, or wedge sized food LO can easily grasp part of it and keep hold whilst they munch on the other end, they are aware when some comes off in their mouth. I always felt I'd rather my LO had his mouth around a (large) plastic plate than a (small) plastic button iyswim.
Finger sized cheese is good, or you can grate it (at 8 months LO likely has a developed pincer grip and would like to practice that), or grill it on toast or in a pitta bread and slice into 'soldiers'/fingers.
One of the tips on those links is to use up puree you have already made (if you batch cooked and froze stuff) by using it as a sauce for pasta or a spread for sandwiches/toast. For pasta sprali or twists are easier to grip for a beginner.
To get started maybe try some toast with butter, or some oven baked sweet potato wedges?
