Why I'm a shuttle tatter!

On occasion, I'm inspired to try something different to what I normally do. This happened the other night while doing my normal reading over at Intatters. There was a post asking if anyone else is into Cro Tatting. There are links to both the post & Youtube here and here.

At the moment, I can't afford to purchase the set of CroTat hooks they sell at Handy Hands for right at $34, especially on something I"m not sure I'll even enjoy. So, I searched through all my crochet hooks & couldn't find anything that would work. I tried. So... At this point, I thought "well, at least I can brush up on my needle tatting skills until I can find a hook that'll work"....Right....

This is my needle tatting. After 3 hours of trying, this is all I got. That cute little ring on the bottom there? That's supposed to be a chain. What I didn't take a photo of was the miles of thread bits & the first joint of my index finger that looks like a pin cushion. Bleh.Maybe it isn't worth it to me because I can use my shuttles instead... Eh...
Methinks I'll just shuttle tat rings & bare thread, then crochet over it if I want them both together. I've already picked out a picture of a rings only doily I plan to try this out on. Shuttles are wound, all is right in the world again.... :) Hats off to you people who can use the needle!!!
Enjoy your day!