Me too!

Yikes...up until now I never realized you had to unless it bends or breaks....

Ummmm...yep! :lol:

I only change mine when I am starting the quilting or when it starts to make the popping sound. Or I change it if I need a bigger eye for thicker thread.

I only change mine if it breaks. Have been on the same needle for over a month now.

I would rarely change my needle unless it made a thudding noise going thru the fabric or if my thread missed stitches. I hated buying needles, thought they were expensive. Recently I joined a needle co-op and got 50 sharps and 25 titanium sharps for aprox $15, now I change my needles more often and safe the used ones for stitching thru soda cans and heavy fabric postcards.

warm quilt hugs, sue in CA

every big quilt i do....

different needles for different fabric ? Yes ? No ? also, there is a sharpening pad for needles I found in a catalog and will try that before replacing.

A loud thunk would certainly scare me. if that's a new sound, I would expect the timing has gotten out of whack & it's time for a professional servicing -- cleaning & adjustment. Just be careful to take it to someone who's factory-authorized, not just anyone advertising a good price.

Tutty, Yes, different needles for different fabrics! Charts are available online to help you sort it out, if you can't find a reference in your sewing machine manual. Generally, size 16 is for jeans & some topstitching; size 14 is regular weight fabrics, size 12 is med-light-weight (cotton batiste, sheers, etc) & size 10 would be very fine fabrics. Then you have ball-points (in above sizes) for stretchy fabrics & a whole host of other specialty needles. For years I thought it didn't make a difference, but truly it DOES! Sometimes changing to the correct needle cures skipped stitches, puckering & all kinds of unprofessional results. The hole the needle makes while sewing needs to allow the thread to pass thru w/o being overly large.