as a long arm quilter i can tell you COTTON THREAD SUCKS. the machines go way too fast and cotton thread breaks constantly...is a huge waste of money. it's ok for piecing and probably hand quilting - maybe a domestic machine would do ok with it. i just don't like using cotton thread i guess. i use poly thread, poly/cotton blends, rayons (great shiny colors) aurafil's, silk thread (hands down favorite)
i do not recommend buying a bulk amount of any thread until you try it. i have spent $19 for a cone of thread at quilt shows to get home and find it would not work in my machine at all...was garbage...now i always with any new thread try a small spool first to check it out then if i love the thread and do not have a bunch of problems using it i will buy more and stock up. machines have their own (minds) and some threads just do not work no matter how good the proclaim to be or how expensive they may be.