Do yourself a favor and invest the $20 or so on Diedre McElroy's DVD "That Perfect Stitch." She does an excellent job in not only showing you the stitch, but info on fabric, batting, needles, thimbles, hoops, frames -- everything you need to know to start hand quilting. You don't need her thimbles even though they are excellent. Just find a needle that has deep dimples so you can control the needle. Start with a #10 needle until you learn the stitch and then you can move up to an #11 or #12. I prefer a #12 Clover Gold Eye because that's what I'm comfortable with. I use Aunt Becky's finger underneath my quilt when quilting in a hoop, but find my finger works better when I'm quilting on my frame because I'm quilting in different directions and manipulating Aunt Becky's is difficult. There's also T.J.'s Quick Quilter that I recently purchased. Think I'm going to like it better than Aunt Becky's. You just have to find what's comfortable for you. After you learn the basic rocking stitch, you must practice, practice, practice. Don't worry about stitch size, just worry about even stitches. Diedre will explain that stitch sizes depend not only on the quilter, but the fabric, fabric direction, batting, and seams. Good luck on your project!