Project lead time

Hurray! I'm finally crocheting in the final strip. I'll finish this today. 56 hours of crocheting, and I still have to block this. The loops on the edges won't lie flat and even without blocking.
The starch will take another 4 or 5 days to dry.
These big projects take a month or more to finish, if I work several hours each day. They'll take longer if I work on several projects at once, which I always do. My magnolia dresser scarf took 3 years! But it's the largest project I've made.
I need to get busy on the Christmas pineapple runner. I want to have it ready to enjoy this season, which means I can't start working on it in December, I have that month lead time to factor in.
What I'm saying is, unless you have way more hours in a day to crochet than I have, you can't buy yarn or thread and have a finished project the next day. You have to plan a month (or 2) ahead for the projects you want as gifts or for decorating.
Crocheting is a very time consuming hobby, but I think the rewards are well worth it.