I am new to the board and have been lurking for a while but finally had to post a question. I have decided to start quilting again after not being able to for a few years. I have made quilts in the past mostly by hand quilting and a bit of piecing on the machine. My grandmother taught me to hand quilt and that was all I knew for awhile. Sewing machines have always intimidated me but I have finally got up the courage to give it a try. I would like to start making my quilts on my machine with minimal hand quilting. Now I am trying to get more acquainted with my sewing machine and according to the quilting book I am planning to use I am supposed to use different size needles for different things. She gives the sizes for each step so that's not a problem. My problem is that I have no idea what needles to actually use. For instance the author says to start the project with and 80/12 Universal needle. All the needles for my machine come with just one number for the size (#11, #14 etc) and none of them say universal. Can I use another brand needle in order to match the size or do I have to stick with the brand of my machine?