I Hate This Sweater

• Last night I thought I was almost done: Just needed to bind off the shoulders and do some finishing work. But not so FAST!
  Dumb Pattern.
  No. I take that back. Dumb knitter!
  I mean, I have done this sweater before! In black! In cotton!
  If I wasn't so "creative" with the pattern, I wouldn't have these problems. But NOOOOOO! I have to avoid finishing work by knitting the sweater in the round in almost one piece! (Body and 2 sleeves) And that means I have ripped out the obi cumberbund twice (gauge problems. 8 inches ease.) And now, when I thought I was done, I'm attempting to fix a problem by ripping back 32 rows and reducing more than I should.
  Some things I have learned:
• I don't like doing the same pattern more than once. And if I have to do the same pattern twice, I don't like using the same color yarn.
• It will not miraculously fix itself if you just keep going. Quite the opposite, in fact.
  Being creative with the pattern is fine. But if I'm just lazy, destiny will find a way to make my shortcuts even harder!
• I love my friend very much. But I would rather knit her something I loved, so all that care could be imbued in every stitch.
  And finally:
• Boredom or frustration with a pattern leads me to stray. I am attempting to be disciplined and fix the problems with my three projects on the needles right now. But I keep being tempted with a new bag of Rowan and some pretty sock yarn. I've been fingering strands and comparing patterns. Last night I even used Jan's swift and ball winder (toys!) to ball up aforementioned pretty sock yarn...