Fons and Porter had the question on their show a few years back about using serger thread for quilting. They said it is just two ply instead of three ply, and you would be fine using it for quilting.
I set my cone on the floor next to or behind the sewing machine table and the thread comes up to the table edge and then through all the necessary thread guides. Works beautifully unless you have fur babies! So I cut a plastic bottle in half, attached the bottom half to the machine with a piece of wire, letting it hang off the right side of the table/cabinet about 6-8 inches down from the top. Works well on my 301A.
Another helper I had was a recipe holder made for me by my nephew. It had a clothes-pin glued on to hold the recipe card at a readable angle, so I took the loose half of the clothes-pin off, and the springy thing, too. This held the cone at an angle so the thread could come off the top easily. That sat right on the table behind my machine for many years.
Now I have a stand someone gave me because her new machine had one built in.