I have had a number of new quilters and then not so new quilters ask me about what kind of needles and other quilting notions do I use so I thought I would talk about needles today.
I use Roxanne #11 betweens for all of my quilting needs – and by that I mean piecing, quilting and applique. A lot of people use different size needles for different projects but that has not worked for me. Straw needles – very long as the name indicates are what a lot of quilters use for needle turn applique which is the kind of applique that I do — if I use that needle I tend to prick my the front of my thumb for some reason – I guess maybe it is the way I hold the fabric and the needle? I don’t know but I find a shorter needle works for me. Here is a photo of the Rebecca needles from their web site: the picture is of the number 10 needle but like I say I use the size 11 it is slightly shorter.
These needles come in a little glass tube with a stopper that has a tiny shell on it there are 50 needles in the container. Occasionally I have trouble with needles bending but not often. Of course when you order on line sometimes the shipping and handling cost more than the product does itself, so when I do order my needles as I can not find them locally I usually check the web site and see what else I could possibly use or need and usually end up ordering a few other things to make myself feel it was worth the s&h fees. 
Normally I will order two of the little tubes of needles- a hundred needles will last me a long time and then I am not paying shipping and handling again for while.
Sometimes I have a hard time pulling such a short needle through the 3 layers of quilting and I use what I refer to as a needle puller, here is a photo of that:
they are little rubber disc’s, you can order those from this site: or many other on line stores, or purchase them at Hobby Lobby and/or Hancocks. Maybe if you have a local quilt shop they carry them also. They last a long time, you might even have something around your house that you could use.
Other needles that some quilters use are John James, and of course there are many other brands. I feel that I have tried so many and I keep coming back to the Rebecca needles so that is what I only use now, no sense in me trying out other brands when they do not work for me. You might feel that Rebecca needles aren’t right for you – we all have our likes and dislikes and whatever you use just make sure you like it and that it works for you.
Tomorrow or sometime this week I will show you my thimble collection and what kind I use and where you can purchase some of them.
