You need at least 20 (10 pair) bobbins to start. Double that for most projects. A box of long thin straight pins, with tiny heads, that won't rust, about 10 pins with big plastic heads to keep groups of bobbins apart, and a foam pillow about 18 inches in diameter, covered in a contrasting cloth (we used a royal blue). And some balls of #10 mercerized crochet cotton, in a couple of colors and white. Also helpful, a #14 crochet hook, a few really fat plastic straws that can be slit to fit over your bobbins, some tiny scissors and reading glasses that focus you to within 4 inches of the work. For bobbins, get some professionally made smooth finished plain ones. There are some big honkers you can get for $5 a dozen and they are too big and rough catching the fine cotton yarns you want to use later. For comfort, if you can create a support system for the pillow that adjusts to various heights depending on your chair, it'll ease the stress on your back and shoulders. Or else use the same chair all the time and make a stand that fits nicely.
My favorite book was "A Torchon Lace Workbook" because it showed the exact path of each thread. After a while you get to understand the paths of the threads, and start thinking of them as a "pair". But in the beginning, it's nice to know if a thread is heading down the wrong path. Barbara C. eastern Mass. mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Barbara C - eastern Mass "Spindles Around the World Video" To stop mail temporarily mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: set nomail To restore send: set mail
