Now why change for a flat pillow is another interesting question, I'd like to know the answer.
Partly guessing, but...
In my two most recent workshops (Snowflakes with Ulrike Loehr in August, and Polychrome de Courseulles with Pompi Parry earlier this month) flat, and *large* pillows were requested both times (block in Loehr's case, and cookie in Parry's). I think it's because, given long-enough "leashes", the bobbins can be spread around -- next to one another -- instead of being bunched up. If one pushes them ot of the way impatiently, they can still "jump" over their neighbours, but are far less likely to get tangled. And, in a workshop, where you you're trying to cram in as much as possible in a very limited time, the last thing you want is to be dealing with tangled bobbins *as well as* with a new technique...
Once you get past 50 pairs or so, there's no pillow flat enough or large enough to allow it -- you'll have to "store" the currently idle bobbins in some way -- but, in a workshop situation, you don't often deal with gobs and gobs; you start small. And, once you learn how nice it is to have enough "elbow room" to maneuver the bobbins in relative peace, you may decide to stick with a flat pillow, even when all you have is 20-odd pairs...
Also, the flat pillows (both cookies and block ones) seem to be easier for "trick cycling" -- turning corners (block) and making minute angle-adjustments for pictorial lace (cookies),
Just MO; I've never worked with one of the roll/bolster pillows myself (and don't intend to <g>), so can't say for sure. Love my roller pillow for yardage, though, and have little trouble keeping track of the "tethered" out of the way bobbins; the very idea used to scare me rigid even 2 yrs ago :) But I don't use the roller for any lace I do not perfectly understand, so that even when some of the bobins *do* get tangled a bit, getting them back in order is not a big deal...
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Tamara P Duvall
Lexington, Virginia, USA
Formerly of Warsaw, Poland
http://lorien.emufarm.org/~tpd/
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