Update

Well, the knitting disaster was redeemed and is now finished. One nephew's presents - down and done.
I suspect, though, that I have angered the crafting fates in some way. My list was a little nutty, but do-able by my standards. However, I've lost an entire afternoon to a brake job on my car (the wait for which I found myself unequipped to deal with as far as knitting goes) and a sewing error. A major sewing error, as in "Oh. That's not a sleeve that I have sewn on where the sleeve should be, gathered by hand and attached to a scalloped yoke with a facing. That's actually the back. I seem to have switched the two pieces."
Nicely done, me.
Ah well. Things will get done as they will and some will not. That's just the way it goes.

On the bright side of things, Emma and I had a genuine and serious conversation this morning en route to school. She was wishing she could understand our dog's thoughts. Magically, in the way that Emmas do best, she invented an electronic monocle that would do just that - read and translate the thoughts of dogs in your vicinity. The best part is that it looks like an ordinary monocle. That way, nobody else knows what you're up to. Covert monocular communication is what it is.
I say kudos to Emma for not even supposing that a 9-year-old wearing an ordinary-looking monocle would draw attention. After all, she does own and wear a red velvet, hooded cloak.