Starting Once, Starting Twice

Hey there, GGers. Thanks for letting me joing in this KAL. I'm fresh off of my second start and have questions I hope to get help with. I'll grab a cup of java first. Ok, the first start was winding off enough Peacock flavored Zephyr Silk Wool for the project, casting on and realizing the resulting fabric wouldn't have enough give. Argh. I've never worked with part silk/ part wool before. I'd thought the wool portion would help with the give, since it doesn't seem that silk is a stretchy knit.

Perhaps it was my needle choice that made things difficult at the start. It's the first time I'm using Boye Needlemasters and found that the thick hard cord wasn't so friendly. Trying to work the cast on with these circulars and finding no give had me decide to choose from my Stashzilla, a Heather Green Austermann Prisma, a Cotton/Polycril blend, instead. Better so far.

Do you think it was the silk and/or the circs that contributed to the no give situation? And what does continue in Stockinette Stitch mean when you are working in the round- am I still purling one round and then purling the next since the first round after the cast on was purled? Thanks in advance!