When exactly is the point of no return..

Before I get into my tale of woe....quick positive update!

My Anne fall leaf lace shawl is done and blocked. Its is lovely and just the right size. I would put in a snazzy photo, if I had one. (If you had not guessed...I'm relatively lazy about taking pictures of my knitting. Maybe its because I don't own the camera I normally use) I plan on wearing it over the weekend, since the temperature may actually be closer to holiday weather then it has been (not that I'm complaining...no heater in use means no heating bill)

But..everything is not blocking and finished and happy. Oh no. I have a current project that will soon be a flaming car wreck on needles.
I have had two skeins of Anne waiting to be a Baltic sea stole for years. Its been on my "to-do" que for ages. So I finally buckle down and begin. The pattern calls for sport weight yarn, 900 yards, size 8 needle. I tried this equation with my lovely deep blue Anne. It was nice, but much too open for my liking, especially since I plan on using this for warmth. So I drop the needle size down two sizes and add 4 extra repeats to make up for the small width this change in size would cause. I have 1095 yards at my disposal. I thought, in a complete fit of insanity, that this would be enough. Hell, I'm 100 yards over what they call for and they never actually use the totals they quote....what could go wrong?

I'm only about three inches in and my first skein is a quarter gone. In the back of my head I know I do not have anywhere near enough yarn to do this. So when exactly do I give up and claim defeat? I'm delusional....I continue to knit thinking that yarn will magically appear and everything will be fine. Because that is what happens, right?

The ironic thing...I'm normally the most conservative knitter. If I feel that my yarn will not meet requirements, especially when yardage is concerned I rip out early. I have a good feeling for when things are going badly and normally do not have a problem with scraping an entire project for something else. But this time.....this time its different. I just refuse to admit this will not work. After casting on a dozen times, trying three different size of needles, carrying around the pattern and the yarn in my knitting bag for ages.....I just can't let it go without a fight!

....If someone would like to sneak into my house and hide this project from me before the swearing starts I will forever be grateful....