It seems that when I start a new discussion thread I get a message that says it needs to be reviewed by a moderator before it will post. How to the spammer threads get through? Just curious ...

I didn't get that message with this thread though ... ??

When I put something in the wrong place, it takes a few hours for the powers that be to move it and send me a notification. After all these wonderful people are quilters too and they were sitting at the sewing machine.

Which section were you posting to?
I think some require a Moderator's approval before it can be posted.
However, for this one ... it does not.
And apparently this thread went through for you OK, right?