Needle Tatting

I've been needle tatting for about six months. It is easier for me than shuttle tatting, and the results are just as good for my purposes. The best source for beginning instructions I have found are here Handy Hands Tatting. Barbara Foster's book is excellent. Someone has shared this as a good site for instructions, Needle Tatting Two. I was asked what kind of needles to use, so I tried to get a picture of them. They aren't the greatest, but the best I could do. Needles come in several sizes. My opinion is to go ahead and get the set - of differing sizes. My first set came from Georgia Seitz shop, but you may find them at Michael's or Hobby Lobby. Start with the larger ones with bigger thread so that you can see the stitches you're making to compare with examples. The threaded needle is next to smallest I have, and it is threaded with size 12 Finca cotton. You will notice that the smaller ones are bent - I have a tight grip! The item on the far right is a regular crochet hook. The item at the top is a size 14 short hook for pulling joins through picots. Iris Susan gave me support and lots of links when I first started.