Pepita - you made a comment that if I had been sewing for 6 hours to change my needle..... are needles only good for 6 hours of use? I have never thought of replacing my needle.... I had one that broke, but other than that I just change to a 16 for my quilting and back to an 11 or 14 for sewing. How do I know if my needle needs to be changed? Do you just throw them out?