How many Bobbins?

A friend asked me once
With a quizzical air
“Just how many bobbins are needed?
If you want to make lace
And not spend too much cash
And then they’ve all got to be beaded.”

I took a deep breath
And collected my thoughts
Just how many bobbins’ enough?
I thought of my bobbins
In boxes and rolls
Just trying to count would be tough.

“You need some to start with
To make bandage strips”
“Are bobbins that sharp” she did ask.
I ignored that remark
And started again
This would be quite a difficult task

“To start with you need
About 20 odd pair”
“You can’t have an odd pair……” “Pipe down”
“But to move on to bookmarks
And simple lace edges…… ”
And at this she started to frown.

“You mean you need lots more
But how many’s enough?”
There must be a target to aim for.
Like Miss Channer’s Mat
How many for that?”
I took another deep breath and said “More”.

“To do Miss Channer’s Mat
You need three hundred or more
That’s pairs, and not for the faint hearted.
And then you need more
For the pillows galore
On which other projects are started.”

My friend looked at me
With her quizzical air
“Just how many pillows are needed?
If you want to make lace
And not spend too much cash?”
“I’ve no answer to that!” I conceded.
-o0o-