I'm fairly new to quilting. I've made 2 quilts in the last 30 years. The first was a triple irish chain when I was 25, I was a stay at home mom then. The second one was a log cabin which took 20 years to complete because I went back to school and then to work. Neither one did I quilt myself, I sent it out to be done. Now that I'm retired I want to get back into quilting. I would love to do the hand quilting myself this time. Before I tackle a full quilt I've been trying out different quilting stitches on pot holders that I made. My problem is that when I bring my needle up vertically to catch the next stitch it bends. My grandmother who taught me the basics of quilting when I was 6 always said to quilt with between needles so thats what I'm using. Are my needles crap or am I doing something wrong? Please help. Grandma and my mom are no longer with us for me to ask and my two sisters are useless.