Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Cunctator, yes, cunctator
This is a new word to me, although it describes me to a T. I found the definition to this crossword hint in my Websters. It means a person who delays. The actual word that fit in the puzzle was procrastinator, a word I’ve been familiar with wayyyyyyy too long. And it describes what I’ve been doing since last Friday when I had an experience to share with you. My excuse for the delay was that I was tired. Last week was very busy, but it ended with a lot of fun.
My granddaughter, Gretchen, and her friend Helen wanted to tie-dye some socks. I volunteered to help with this project they were doing for school. They had purchased cotton socks at my suggestion. Let me tell you, it is not easy to find just plain unadulterated cotton socks. We ended up with 80% cotton after finding some with as little as 46%.

I dropped off my supply of marbles and rubber bands earlier in the week so the girls could have that all done. On Friday we were ready to dye, 22 pairs of socks! I had premixed dye solution in six colors. We proceeded in an assembly line fashion using the low immersion technique of dyeing. 



We placed four pair in each bucket. The girls decided to use two colors in some buckets, including green and gold for “Packer” socks. Other combinations were yellow/orange/red, and red/purple/blue. 


While we waited for the dyeing process to finish the girls had fun mugging for the camera. 


After the initial rinse we removed the bands and marbles. 



I’m always excited to see the lovely combinations of colors that result from low immersion.  

The results showed where the synthetic fibers were located, mostly in the foot area. The anklets and upper sections of the socks took the dye well. 



There will be some very Happy Feet at school. And besides the beautiful socks, some wonderful, colorful memories were made.


Gretchen and Helen ROCK!!!

There, I’ve overcome this episode of cunctation. Have a great time getting ready for the holidays.
Happy stitching and dyeing.