Cast on - Rip out

Oh kay then - that went well - NOT. Gotta love when I first start a new pattern.  I've pcked the Nutkin Sock for my pattern - I love the texture on it  It's got a nice cuff at the top - what i really like about it is that you can still see the texture with the yarn I'm using - yea!!  I so wanted to do a texture or lacy type sock, but all my sock yarn is striped - so I had to take that into considering and making sure that the pattern didn't get lost in the stripes.

And as per usual, I'm having issues.  Nothing that can't be worked out - just giving me a bit of a pause.

It starts with cast on 64 stitches and divide between 4 DPNs, knit 5 rows, purl one, then knit 6 more rows - the purl row is for the cuff fold - the pattern then reads:

Using the tip of the right needle, pick up one side (the closest side) of the first CO st. Move that picked up stitch to the left needle. K the first live st together with the picked up st. There is now one st on right needle. Repeat this all the way around until all CO sts have been picked up and knitted with the live sts. 

 Seems pretty simple right?  Well sure it is, unless you've used a dark yarn and can't see the bloody thing.  I'm knitting this on US2 (275mm) with light fingering yarn and these stitches are freeken tiny.  Remember for the past bit I've been knitting worsted on US7.

So, I've a few options - I decided to give up when the right needle fell off, 5 stitches dropped; then every time I picked up a stitch, another would drop and just get funky looking on the needle, so I gave the win to the yarn LOL

Back to my options - Recast On further down the yarn and get a lighter colour and follow those instructions (which also leaves me open to the mistake of picking up the initial stitch in the wrong spot causing the sock to twist) or use a provisional cast on with waste yarn - be a lot trickier for the cast on, but way easier picking up the stitches.

The cuff lays nice and flat with her method - using a provisional, I might create bulk at the cuff as I'm not sure the stitches will lie flat like her method does.

64 stitches isn't much, but using 4 DPNs, light fingering yarn and US2 needles is not fun for the first 2 rows, and I'm thinking that the provisional cast on will make that just way more fiddling and a pain - OR it will it more stability and make my life way easier in the long run.  Now Plan B (starting further down the yarn) or Plan C - the provisional cast on ... decisions decisions .

Ravelry Link - Nutkin KAL Break Socks