I felt your pain this morning Steve! Literally LOL. Not for quilting, but I snapped 2 needles in half hand hemming a pair of carpenter pants for JB to wear to work. The first two were perfect for sharpness, but snapped after a short time (dritz brand by the way) and the third one was an off brand that came in a really cute little sewing box JB got for me, but man, it was much thicker, but boy howdy was it dull!! I had to pull out ultra thick leather thimble for that puppy!! It took longer with the bigger needle, but I managed to get the job done. I'm sooo glad I opted not to try to hem that heavy denim on my new machine!! I only have a couple of needles for it and I'm guarding those like gold. Makes me wonder exactly what I'm going to do when I get ready to quilt the memory quilt I have in the works, its mostly denim.

For those shopping for quilting needles at Joanne’s pay attention:

In my weekend phone conversation with mom I asked about the brand she was using (the ‘small’ size 7's betweens), and guess what? DRITZ! So be aware that the numbering system on Czechoslovakian needles (or at least the Dritz) is just the opposite, small being small (shorter) on theirs.

Curiouser and curiouser...

I just pulled a mixed package of Dritz from Joanne's to confirm it.

I hand quilt all the time. My favorite needle is John James size 10 "betweens" They do not break or bend. Always have a pack on hand. The larger the number (and I think 12 is the largest) the smaller the needle. I can not thread the #12 needle. Thats what has worked for me for the last 20 yrs. Marge

Just got three packages of JJ size 10 betweens in the mail yesterday. I may eventually move to smaller needles, but for now these are great and so much nicer than what I've been using.

Glad to hear you are pleased with them. Happy Quilting. Marge

Hey Steve, I saw this today and instantly thought of you and your mom. I love John James needles, I haven't used them for hand quilting but I do use the beading needles exclusively! They are indeed the best I've found. But, anywho, I saw these and thought how easy would these be for your mom!! Made specifically to be easily recogizable in a sewing box, etc. because each size has its own color. Thought you may like to see them. I'm gonna be placing an order for the beading and embroidery ones very very soon!

http://www.craftconn.com/Main.asp?Task=Custom&Step=Notion+Category&Criteria =pebbles

Out of stock, no fair lisa! The sizes are wrong for her, but I do like the idea.

I ended up moving down to a size eleven JJ. The tens still bent a little under my man hands. I feel like such a brute. :roll: