I was just reading on
http://dontlooknow.typepad.com/dont_look_now/ and found this little tip about applique that I don't remember ever seeing before:
"Do you sometimes have problems with your thread knotting up and becoming tangled while you are stitching? It may just be because you have threaded your needle with the wrong end of your thread!!! If you are left handed, like I am, you should thread your needle using the end that you cut ...not the end that comes off your cotton reel! If you are right handed you should thread your needle with the end that comes directly off your cotton reel. "
Now if only I can remember this!
Carol B