I rarely use C & C thread any more, but when I was making... I don't remember, maybe a gift bag, I dropped a spool of it that I had in. Finished the project, started working on something else and wondered why the heck I was suddenly seeing so much lint pile up around my foot, needle and bobbin area. That convinced me that it's not the thread that I want to use.
Needles I usually use a 12/80. I bought a box of 100 Schmetz needles at J's w/ a coupon a while back. so will have them for a loonggg time! I've never had a problem with that size. I do have denim ones and metal ones for those specific threads.