You guys are totally confusing me. I hand quilt. Each time I start new, I knot the thread, put my needle in about 1/2-3/4 of an inch from my starting point, bring the needle up where I want to start, then bury the knot. I stitch until I come to the end of what ever I am doing, then bring the needle out just a bit from the end, knot it, bury the knot and clip the thread. How do you keep your thread stable if you don't knot it? Seems like it would get all loosy goosy over time.