Hi Judith, I only want the spiral eye needles to bury threads. Sorry to hear about your eye problems....my husband has Macular degeneration and Glaucoma in one eye. He has no central vision but so far we are managing to keep the Glaucoma at bay.
Nancy I looked up Wawak.com but the John James needles are the ones I have and they shred maybe I have a bad batch.
Thanks to you all
Anne

Like Lois, I use the self-threading needles for burying threads when quilting. I tried the Clover ones first and hated them because they always shredded my thread when trying to pop it into the eye. I then moved to the spiral eye needles, which are much easier to thread with no shredding. But I do get the opening of the spiral hooked on the quilt sometimes and that's very frustrating. Most recently I've been using the John James needles. You pop the thread through the back to thread them like the Clover needles, but they seem to work much better and I don't have the trouble with shredding. And because you pop the thread in rather than threading it through a spiral, the needle never catches on the quilt. They are my favorites for now. I get them at wawak.com.

I have two sizes of the Martelli rotary cutters. One I purchase in a quilt shop and the other at a quilt show. I have not seen them at JoAnn's, Michael's or Walmart.

I don't use the spiral eyed needles for hand stitching. I use them to bury threads. I wouldn't enjoy using them for hand stitching but for burying threads they are the greatest.

Additional needle threading tip...
When you are trying to thread the needle, hold the thread very, very close to the tip of the thread.
The closer to the tip you can hold it, the easier it is to thread.

Judith

Anne,
I bought my Martelli rotary cutter at a quilt show. I live about 4 hours from Richmond, so I don't know much about quilt shops there. I did hear several people say that "Quilting Adventures" in Richmond is a good shop with a lot going on.

When I googled Martelli rotary cutter, I found that you can get them through Amazon.co.uk with free shipping. They come either for right-handed or left-handed people.

I have a cornea dystrophy and am losing my vision, so I experiment with different things to see if they help.
I bought a set of Spiral Eye needles. I do not like them at all. They are thick and hard for me to push through fabric. One of the three was very poorly made. It snagged the fabric every time I tried to make a stitch.

I like the Clover Desk Needle Threader. It is a little bulky to carry around for handwork, but it has worked well for me. You have to follow the directions.

I also like the Mighty Bright Handsfree lighted magnifier for hand-sewing, applique and threading needles at night. You wear it around your neck. It is not heavy. It really helps.

Best wishes,
Judith

I think the Martelli notions look great....can you only get them from Martelli? or do quilt shops is USA sell them?
My daughter will be in Richmond Virginia in April for on week and has asked me if there is anything I want her to bring back.......daft question......
I would also like to know about the spiral eye needles, are they available in the quilts shops?
I don't yet know where she will be staying.
Anne

I have the Martelli rotary cutter too. It helps in preventing pain.

I also strongly recommend an Accuquilt Go cutter. The new electric one sounds great.
I have the older one. You can turn the handle with either hand. You could operate it with your other hand and not put any stress on your fused wrist at all.

Another thing that might help are the Superior thread snips. I bought a pair after trying them at a quilt show. Many of the snips and scissors are painful for me to operate. The Superior thread snips cost more, but the pain relief is great.

Don't give up.

Judith

I ordered a Martelli cutter after seeing Jaqueline De Jong use it in her videos. I really like it because it is soooo ergonomic and it cuts many layers very easily. Takes a bit getting used to it though. Highly recommend it for you.
good luck
J

I use the Martelli rotary cutter too and think it's wonderful. They have youtube videos to show you how to use it, well worth looking at. Here's a link:



Hope that helps.

I use the Martelli rotary cutter too. What about the new electric Accuquilt?

Thank you very much! I will look it up online.
Liz

Martelli makes and ergonomic rotary cutter that you should look at. It has the handle going out from the side of the blade rather than coming out from the back so you can keep your wrist straight when using it. I've heard of several people that swear by it.

I've just had a wrist fusion on my dominate hand. I'm looking for suggestions on the type of cutting equipment to try out. I'm having a difficult time with my rotary cutter.
Thank you!