I try to make my stitching lines a long as possible to minimize the number of starts and stops but I prefer to tie and bury the ends. Since I really try to keep my stitches uniform in size it defeats the purpose if I use those little stitches or back stitches to start and end. I realize that it takes more time; however, I have already spent lots of time doing the piecing to get it as near perfect as possible. So, why shortcut the ending?