Perserverance takes Patience (that I May or May Not Have)

I've been working on this shawl for almost a month now, and I'm crawling out of my skin because of it!  I'm so used to smaller projects that don't take a lot of time, like hats or mitts.  I can dash off a baby hat in one night, two tops.  That's why the baby hats that I'm working on are good for instant gratification, while this marathon-of-a-shawl indicates perseverance and steadfastness.

I love the yarn, it's Lion Brand LB Collection Baby Alpaca.  This is the first time I've worked with alpaca, and it's very soft, warm and cozy and drapes beautifully.   This baby will eventually be made of ten skeins of yarn!!  I'm *almost* to the third skein.  I was lamenting that it was taking time for it to come together at Knitting Meetup last Wednesday and I remarked that it would probably come together better if I didn't cheat on it constantly.  Someone said "You cheat when knitting that?  Tell me, how do you do it??"  I had to laugh, because when I say "cheat" I mean I'm led astray by other flirtatious knitting projects.  She thought I meant that I had found a way to knit it faster.  Which got us to thinking:  wouldn't it be neat (albeit creepy) to have a knitting elf while you slept?  You leave your scarf/shawl/bag/mittens-in progress on your coffee table and go to bed, then get up to find that there's another inch or so of progress?  That would be a real find for when you're burning the midnight oil, furiously knitting towards a swap deadline.  Or asking for a handmade gift back as soon as the recipient opens it, so that you can finish it?  Yes, I'm guilty of that one. 

Man, I hope I can have this one done by Christmas.