What the heck is wrong?!

[Vortok]

That's the risk you run when you use Hasty Touch. When it works, it can get you more quality than otherwise. When it fails though, it fails hard. My 40 Dura crafts (that I can't just brute force HQ before durability is an issue) look like this. You can remove/replace what you don't have.

Comfort Zone (50 ALC)
Inner Quiet
Stead Hand II (37 CLN)
Waste Not (15 LTW)
Basic Touch x 3
Steady Hand
Great Strides
Innovation (50 GSM)
Advanced Touch
Great Strides
Byregot's Blessing (50 CRP)
Careful Synth II (50 WVR)

Nowadays it HQs anything sub 1 star (can drop the Waste Not on 80 dura crafts), but you don't start crafting with a bunch of cross class 50 abilities (didn't pick up Innovation for a long time since I delayed Mining and the related crafts).

There's several places you can pick up more CP with Tricks of the Trade (15 ALC). Downgrade the last two touch actions to whatever you need to based on your CP. You can also swap the order of the first Great Strides and Steady Hand (particularly when you don't have Innovation) which gives you 2 spare SH steps on the last Great Strides - you just run the risk of Excellent popping up after GS before you have SH back up (into Poor). You can use those steps + spare CP to Observe to fish for a Great/Excellent proc. If you have enough CP, you could refresh SH/GS and then Observe - depending on how lucky you got with Tricks.

I didn't find it worthwhile to use spare CP to upgrade the first 3 touches unless I knew it would guarantee 100% (unless Excellent, in which case swap with the first GS touch).

The best part (for me) is how different it feels from Hasty Touch. With bad luck on Hasty Touch you get utterly screwed. With bad luck on this method you're still likely in the 70-80% range from NQ mats depending on stats/gear. Good luck means you do better than expected (likely 100%), but without any luck you still do fine overall.

I've never used anything but CP food, while leveling or at cap. More actions is just that valuable.