268 Stitches

I decided to work on my Textured Circle Shrug after I noticed a BIG mistake in my Interlocking Cables sweater.  I did the cables all wrong.  They are supposed to be staggered, and the cables between the lower body and the upper body aren't.  So, instead of tryung to rip out 34 rows while in tears, I decided to give that sweater a rest. I will come back to it when self imposed anger isn't taking over every bone in my body. 

I picked up my Textured Circle Shrug that I had cast on for a Knit-A-Long eons ago.  I was on the second sleeve, and needed to complete that before picking up the rest of the body.  In order to pick up stitches, I used an ingenious method.  I had purchased a 4.00mm KnitProTunisian Crochet hook from Get Knitted in the UK.  The crochet hook attaches to my Knitpicks cable.  So, I can pick up stitches, switch needle tips, and carry on knitting.

However, there was one mistake on my part.  I bound off a bit tightly, so I couldn't get the crochet hook through all of the stitches.  To my dismay, this happened......

Instead of getting upset and flinging the knitting across the room, I took a deep breath and proceeded to use a size F metal crochet hook to help me accomplish picking up the rest of the stitches.  I tried my best to follow the pattern, and wound up picking up 268 stitches altogether.  Here is a picture of the beginning of the K1P1 rib. 

I am slated to do 41 rows before starting the next phase of the sweater.  That's 10,988 stitches.  If I had a dollar for each stitch, I could start my own yarn store, or at least have a nice luxury stash. 

Hmmmm... should I even attempt to get the needle replaced?  Or will a secondary needle meet the same doom?  What are your thoughts?