Quiltmaker,
I agree with you, Roxanne McElroy's book is also one of my favourite and I can really recommend it to everyone interested in hand quilting. I have learned a lot about the materials I work with, although my method of hand quilting is a different one (I quilt without a thimble and I do only single stitches). However, the book is really a treasure for me.

BTW - just in case you want to get rid of the needles...you can send them to me! :)

I hope that all and sundry will be happy to know that The Perfect Stitch is still in print; in fact there is a second, updated edition by Dierdra McElroy. Excellent, highly detailed book, though of course some things are bound to change, like availability of new battings, so it's worthwhile to do your own research on things like that. (I just took a class from Dierdra at a quilt festival, and it was wonderful, too.).