You can buy a little stand-up thingy that holds large spools. It just sits behind your machine, and you run your thread up into the slot at the top and then thread your machine as usual. Keeps your thread running nice and smooth. I got one at one of the quilt stores and I think it cost me around $10. I forget what the darn thing's called, but you can just tell them what you need it for and they'll know what you're talking about. :)