I quilt on a longarm. I knot and bury most of the time. It really doesn't take that long. I try not to have *too* many stops and starts.

I knot an bury as I go.

Here is simple way I do them. I'm including 2 videos
http://youtu.be/PmZAzW_175s
http://youtu.be/M3gl4K8Z7XM

I knot and bury them as I go. If I leave it to the end it seems that the loose ends of thread get tangled up or sewn in an adjacent line of sewing. I also find it boring and intimidating it I have a whole quilt to knot and bury so like the variety of sewing and burying as I go along.

I'm working on a quilt which has heavy quilting. Have been doing it off & on since January Just started quilting GD quilt which will have double cross hatching 1" apart in 16 squares. I would honestly recommend stitching ends in as you go or after each square. Breaks the monotony.

I have always used the back stitch for starting and ending my quilting rows, but have never been really happy with how it looked. After watching those two videos I think I will be trying that for my next quilt.
Thanks again to this wonderful group for asking and answering another question I didn't know I had.
Hugs and smilessssss.....

I don't bury at all. 3 or 4 teeny stitches is enough to hold my stitching strong. Sometimes I'll even cheat and take a backstitch or two if I'm using thread that matches my backing. I'm to dang lazy to bury LOL!

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.

When machine quilting, I start and end with about 1/4" of tiny stitches. If it's a baby quilt or one that will be handled and washed and dried a lot, such as place mats, I will also bury the threads. For wall hangings, tiny stitches at start and finish are strong enough.

I saw on fons and porter where she brings up her bobbin thread, then advanced a teeny tiny bit, and made a stitch, almost in the same hole, she said. (a guest, I don't remember her name, I am sorry). She explained that it made it knot inside the quilt . . .

A kid was talking to me and I almost missed it . . . I don't feel like I got all of what I needed to know . . .

I usually knot my tails, before I buried them. One by one by one. LOVED this info!! ;0))