Okay, let me try a verbal description.
1. You are going to make a knot in the end of your thread. The knot should be small. Make a loop in the end of your thread and pass the end through the loop. Pull it tight. If you clip the tail end, leave about a quarter of an inch tail.
If you're like me, until I started quilting, I made a end knot by making the loop around my index finger then rolling it off with my thumb then pulling the knot tight. This makes a big lumpy knot, not the kind you want for quilting.
2. Next you are going to insert your needle through the top only of the quilt about 1" away from where you start. Push the needle through the middle of the quilt and come up where you want to start.
3. Pull your thread until the knot sits on top of your starting place.
4. Holding on to the quilt near the knot, gently pull the needle (or trailing thread) until the knot pops through into the bat.
Voila! You've started. When you end, you make the same type of knot, put in your last stitch between layers. Slide needle through bat and come up about an inch away. When thread has come through, hold the quilt and gently pull the needle until the knot pos through into the bat.
Hope this helps and hope it is clear. I'm like you, a picture is worth a thousand words.