Honeycomb Problems

I have only got this far on Honeycomb. I've finished the waistband, which was a nice twisted rib. My progress was hindered earlier in the week when I accidentally made a moebius by twisting the c/o row. Not to be deterred, I swiftly cast on again, and have made good progress, considering how thin the yarn is.

However, here's where the real problem began. The first round of the Honeycomb pattern is: K1 (C2F, C2B) Repeat to last stitch, K1. The dilemma here was whether to bother with a cable needle (tedious) or leave the slipped stitch hanging before coming back to it later (risky). The latter seemed like the obvious option, but let me tell you: it took me at least an hour to do this first round. That is unacceptable for me! I need to be going much faster than that. I'm used to cabling without a cable needle; it makes progress much faster. However, the combination of evening knitting (dark), colour of wool (quite dark), texture of wool (tweedy) and hanging stitches made it so easy to drop a stitch, and progress was slowwwwwwww. I normally use much thicker yarn where the hanging stitch is much easier to idfentify, so this was difficult.

Bearing in mind that the cable round is repeated every 6 rounds, this will take me forever to finish. I am considering giving up now. Alternatively, I've considered doing a simple stocking stitch tank top, which I would actually prefer anyway. I realise that I would have to modify the pattern, as cabling pulls the fabric in. Presumably the waistband width wouldn't change, so I could stay where I am (as long as I remember to frog the first Honeycomb pattern round after the rib). What would you suggest for modifying the size of the overall tank top to make it in stocking stitch? Should I just give up on this project altogether?

Before embarking on this, I did read comments on Ravelry from those who had finished Honeycomb, and knew that the cabling would be a pain, so I can't blame the pattern. It's not that I can't do it, just that I want to enjoy my knitting, and this round was far from enjoyable!

Speaking of Knitty, have you seen the Spring issue? Warm weather knitting really isn't my thing anyway (I like to make woolly garments to provide warmth in winter), so I wasn't expecting to find anything I liked. The only one I would even consider would be Emmaline, but if I'm honest I probably wouldn't wear it. For me, and it's just a personal taste thing, not snobbery, I'm not keen on short-sleeved knitted cotton tops in Summer. Why not just wear a T-shirt? Sadly, I didn't like any of the other patterns, and I spend months waiting for the new issue, so it was a little disappointing. I did like the idea behind Tribute (a sock pattern written by a woman in tribute to her friend who had lost her battle with cancer), but I'm not in the mood for socks yet!

I'm probably just being too picky... I should really embrace the knit I'm working on, and stick with it, so back to work now.

Edited to Add: I'm now on my third gauge square, trying to get gauge in stocking stitch. I think this is the way forward for me.