If the quilt police catch me I will probably be in trouble, but I have been using milliners needles to hand quilt. They are easier for my arthritic hands to grip because they are longer, they have relatively big eyes, and they are sharp. To get that thread to have a little body, I apply chapstick first and then drag the thread between my lips.

connectingthreads.com has quilting betweens with a larger eye. I'm going to try that.

Wait- do you thread the pointy end or the one with the hole in it?
As a child I laughed when my mother asked me to thread needles for her because she couldn't see the eye. Now my daughter does them for me.
My husband bought jewelers loops off of ebay under $5.00 (gets used for a number of things) It's nice for taking out slivers, seeing the size of a machine needle, inspecting the tip of a needle and when my daughter is at school, even seeing the eye of the needle. Some needle eyes are just to small to work though.

I have to put on glasses to thread a #10 or #12 quilting needle! :thumbup:

I haven't read the whole thread so I don't know if anyone has mentioned the Clover double needle threader. One of the best tools I have ever found.I just ordered 8 of them because I'm afraid they might quit making them. Joann on line and Connecting Threads has them.

I have been appliqueing with silk thread and straw needles or I have forgotten the nane of the other needle--These have really tiny eyes. Elie S.(sorry I can't spell her name) reccomends putting the thread in your left hand (if your right handed) and bring the needle over the needle.

For me this works. Silk thread is so fine, slippery, won't stand up straight like cotton will! I hold the silk thread in my left hand between my thumb and pointer finger. I hold down the thread usually with my fingernail (thumb) and allow only about a 1/4 inch or less of thread to be exposed. I bring the needle to the thread, and try to get it over the thread. Once it is through, I push the needle against my finger (to keep it from coming out) and then grab the little bit of thread and pull it through.

I have quilted with betweens, which are much larger eyed needles. I've been surprised that Suzanne Marshall uses the cotton over poly thread (like Coats and Clarks for hand quilting. I think Hobby Lobby has this tread.) she uses it for the applique as well as for hand quilting. She said she takes her quilt with her on car trips etc. and tried the all cotton type. She found that there were broken stitches all over the place with her all cotton. She thought she had more strain on the cloth, lugging it around and she needed the poly core.

I ended up sending the last post 2 X, so I deleted and have to put some thing in the empty post!

I also think that when you can't thread your needle you don't have enough light.

There are very few very fine needle threaders, and they seem to come apart really easily.

My younger sister laughed at me last summer when she saw I had a little red anvil type needle threader. I know what I am giving her for her 50th birthday!

Can you get some gold eye needles?

There are all different qualities of cotton thread. Some inexpensive thread breaks if you just look at it! If it says "hand quilting" on the spool, it is very very hard to break!

I have sometimes switched to embroidery needles, they have a longer hole, yet are quite small. Many number 10's are too small for many fingers anyway.