Pooling

Argh!

I picked up the needles yesterday on the train after a long time of not knitting (I finished DD's socks, which she wears DAILY!, but I haven't picked up the needles since). I cast on to make Nancy Bush's Child's Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks (love the book) using a STR yarn I've had for almost a year and that I absolutely LOVE.

I'm about 3" into the sock, and the yarn is pooling BADLY! As in, there's NO striping whatsoever. It's big oil spill pools of color that are pooling through the fabric.

I HATE pooling!

The question I have is ...

* if I switch to smaller needles, would that really impact the pooling? It's seriously so bad, that I think knitting this pattern even on smaller (or larger) needles won't fix it.

* do I have to make a smaller sock? Really, a larger sock would work for a man. I'm not even sure this sock will fit me right. But a smaller sock might make the striping work. Thing is, I LOVE this yarn. A smaller sock would be for DD, and while I love her and will go to the ends of the earth for her, I'm a selfish, hoarding person. ;) Seriously, I have wanted this yarn for myself for the past year, have knit it several times, only to rip and wait for the right pattern. I'm a bit frustrated with it. Maybe it's the yarn -- maybe it just won't work for my sized socks.

Any thoughts??

PS - HOW DOES YH get such pretty stripes!!!! ARGH!!!