Okay... A *little* progress...

So. With some *very* helpful hints from Judy over at Intatters & StephanieGrace here on Blogger, I decided to give it another go. And this was the result. I did it while Untatter was napping today, so it took me about 2 hours or so. I'm really quite proud of it. It does look somewhat "padded", & it is quite floppy, but I'm altogether positive that that is a result of my lack of practice. A smaller needle & some practice would probably help alot. I do like the fact that my end join wouldn't twist if I'd asked it to. LoL.
Now, working with the needle, I made a couple of observations. Feel free to correct me if you feel like I'm incorrect.
1. It seems to me that while shuttle tatting is a bit more compact, it would be easier to needle tat on the move. Say at the doctor's office, because when you lay your needle down, it doesn't leave a loop of thread hanging to pull & become tangled. I *hate* laying down a ring in progress because it never fails - something always gets tangled up in it, & when I go to untangle the mess, it pulls my ring close enough together to make a mess when I try to loosen it back up. I'd have to be more practiced at it so it didn't take me a year & a half to reverse my work & tie the knot, but it's something I'm thinking about. It also requires (slightly) fewer tools. I might need a needle, & scissors, but with my shuttle, I carry several tools & use them. Hmm..
2. It seems like it'd take alot more practice to be good at. I know alot of you say you learned to needle tat because you couldn't get the flip. But for me, it's SO hard to get the stitches off the needle without twisting them up in a knot! Then I have to tie the knot at the end, which for me is an ongoing challenge of how to turn it the right direction so my next chain doesn't twist. Bleh.
3. I totally see why some people think it's faster, but I don't. A practiced shuttle tatter (even myself) can tat & pull the rings closed with at least the same speed. It just takes practice I suppose. Not that I'm a pro, or awesome, or super fast (actually quite the opposite)
4. I do like the way the chains close up better. Once they're "closed", or off the needle, they're done. No fiddly sliding the stitches back & forth to keep them where you want them.
5. Maybe with more practice I'll change my mind, but all the tying knots at the end of every element seems fiddly to me. Maybe I should practice more.
6. And finally - while I do believe it is useful to know both techniques, I AM a shuttle tatter. For now anyway. Not that I'm permanently putting up the needle, or that I'm looking down my nose... Just that the shuttle is my preferred method. For now.

It's tatting, I can't deny that. And when the needle isn't stuck up in my finger, it's actually enjoyable. I plan on more practice, and I do hope I haven't offended anyone. It is truly (to me) just as complex as using a shuttle. I look at a needle just as you look at a shuttle :)
Off to haul hay for the winter :)