The importance of blocking your swatch

I left my little swatch in the water for the night, because I didn't have the time to block it. The red from the purple color bled into the water and dyed the light mint color to pink.

I'm so glad this happened with the swatch, and not with my garment!

Now I know that I need to use a color catcher, And let the garment sit no more than half an hour in the water.

Another conclusion - although the measurement showed 18 pairs per 4" / 10 cm, after blocking it grew a little and now I'm with 17 pairs, on spot with the pattern!