Monday 14 December 2009

Review: Changing Sheets

Changing the sheets the other day I realised I had no idea where time had gone – not changing the sheets mind, that doesn’t take very long, unless of course, I am joined by the Boys or event the dogs.
No, I was looking at Dear Charlie’s sheets and duvet cover, well actually his duvet cover, and it dawned on me that he had had this self same cover for as long as I have known him – now we’ve been married ten years and I knew him a long time before that.
I know some may be shocked by the knowledge that I knew what his duvet cover looked like before we were married but I did help him move house long before I actually got engaged to him. (That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it – you never know who might be reading do you!)
Anyway his Duvet cover must be an antique by now. In fact it is so old, its blue and orange and red geometric design is bound to be fashionable again. It’s a very student boy duvet cover; really dark and well you just know it’s the type that his Mum sent him to University with, and then washed in the holidays, and between that day and they day she washed it, it is extremely unlikely to have been removed from his bed.
I came across a lot of duvet covers like it when I was still a gallivanting. I think it is the reason why I got my own accommodation as quickly as possible so I never had to go through the disappointment that you get when fuelled up by the moment you are swept in his arms and anticipation is at its peak and then you see his duvet cover. Well you know that moment? It’s gone, gone for good and suddenly you just don’t feel like it anymore. A lot of young men were crossed off my list for poor aesthetic taste in the bedroom department.
Perhaps boys should take note here, the duvet cover you choose and they way you tend it, or not, as the case may be can have a direct correlation as to how successful you are on the, let’s call it, romantic front.
Suffice to say, Dear Charlie’s duvet cover has got to go but trying to find him a new one that’s the problem. (Some at this point might be wondering why Dear Charlie seems to have separate linen to me, well we take a pragmatic view in our household in that we both like to function in the morning and what with his snoring and my insomnia we have separate rooms thus we require separate linen. It also heightens that need for him to have linen that I like but that’s not too girly ‘cos face it both people have to be comfortable with the choice.)
Anyway I have been looking, and looking and looking. I’ve tried Next, The White Company, John Lewis, M&S and now I’ve found Dorma…I think I could have the answer to our dreams.
I am extremely fussy about my bed linen. Dear Charlie says it borders on paranoia. I cannot bear synthetic fibres and have an abhorrence of flannelette – however cosy and warm some may feel it to be. I prefer cotton and if pushed I will opt for silk as long as it is white ‘cos I still have ghastly associations of a water bed with black silk bed clothes. Suffice to say that was not a good night and the poor man I was with must have been so disappointed - I suffer terribly from motion sickness…
That aside, I am obsessed with thread count and where the cotton is sourced to make my bed linen – up until now it has had to be from Egypt and at least a 300 thread count making it nice and soft.
I’ve lost you on thread count haven’t I? Briefly thread count is the number of threads per square inch in both directions in the weave. The higher the thread count, the more luxurious the feel of a fabric and softer it is. But beware, as a higher thread count usually means that the threads are thinner and may not wear as well. Also the higher the thread count the more expensive it is and there’s the rub. I think I have expensive tastes. I love the White Company and it’s wonderfully grown up designs but unfortunately the items I like are usually just too expensive for me, John Lewis does some great Egyptian Cotton but here I personally have a problem with the designs – at present there are none I particularly like – unless of course they are very expensive. Now I have found Dorma – and it seems I may have hit the jackpot. A whole host of designs and seriously good prices. I am willing to take a closer look.
Some are just too fussy and I wonder at the embroidered ones, just how long will they last in my household with boys and dogs and well just the rough handling they’ll be expected to undergo?
But I’ve been given a sneak preview Dorma are launching a new co-ordinated range called Capri, available exclusively in Dunelm Mill, with blue and cream stripes and spots (a soft blue that appeals to the girl in me and is not so girly as to send Dear Charlie running for the hills). It meets my exacting criteria of 100 per cent cotton and it has a 300 thread count. Problem is I’m going to have to wait until the end of January 2010.
I suppose I’ll just have to be abstemious this holiday season – or perhaps I shall just send him an invite to come up and see me sometime…corridor creeping does add that extra frisson don’t you think?

13 comments:

Trish said...

Ah this made me smile...a lot. Being put off your stride by their "aesthetic taste in the bedroom department"! Obviously a lights-on kind of girl?!

Tattieweasle said...

Definitley a "lights on" girl possibly because I have the most appalling eyesight...

Trish said...

It's a wonder you noticed the duvet covers then...or does your bad eyesight mean you only see the biggest thing in the room ;-) ??!

Tattieweasle said...

There are some things that one always notices however poor one's eyesight is, beds and how they are made etc is just one of those things...:)

blackbird said...

I'm so glad that you've something to look forward to- in the sheet and duvet area- even if you will need to wait. It is time for the old ones to go but you may find that you have some resistance there. Maybe you could make a couple of pillow covers to aid the transition. We did that for my nephew's baby blanket.

I love sheets and a clean, smooth and fluffy bed is a pleasure. I'm a fan of flannel but I'm aware that many hold quite strong opinions of it.

I remember when we bought new sheets for my grandfather's bed and he said in the morning that he felt like something stuck to a bulletin board. It seems that he wore flannel pjs as well as the new flannel sheets. He could barely get out of bed.

Chris Stovell said...

I enjoyed that... and the hidden depths!

Tattieweasle said...

Blackbird - your poor grandfather but it did make me chuckle! I love new sheets or ones freshly laundered that I did not habve to iron..
Chris H - Thank you and what is it they say about still waters..

Rob-bear said...

I'm sure you have some interesting stories to tell . . . but we'll leave that for another day.

300 count Egyptian cotton sheets -- how absolutely wonderful. Mine aren't quite that good, but almost.

I've only discovered duvets late in life. I have one which I adore, but it's is "safekeeping" now -- until the puppies grow up a bit more.

As for hubby's snoring, has he been tested for sleep apnea? That condition is the bane of my existence.

Pondside said...

I too have a 'thing' about bed linen. High thread count and just-right colour/pattern. I have summer linen and winter linen and heaven help the poor Great Dane if he uses the wrong one. The thing I dislike most about our damp winters is that I can't have sun-dried linen all year long.

Anonymous said...

There were times (at University mind you) when the smell of a boy's duvet was just as important as it's aesthetic appeal. There is NOTHING worse than a stinky bed. Ugh.

Faith said...

Oh I'm with you on thread count - and its worth it, getting good bed linen. Expensive but worth it. I'll check out Dorma next time I need some.

ELS said...

Geometric duvet covers. That takes me back. Wish I'd been a bit pickier actually - often met a duvet cover I hated, don't think I ever hated it enough to leave...

Tattieweasle said...

Rob Bear - Duvets are heaven sent but possibly not the best of things to play tug-o-war with puppies...as fopr DC's snoring he still refuses to consider anything is wrong. I think he thinks I'm just weird.
Pondside - I love the idea of summer and winter linen. It makes so much sense and a wonderful excuse to go sales shopping in January!
Mud - stale beds and bedrooms euugh!
Faith - I always feel a little guilty about buying bed linen because I tend to opt for the expensive kind so last year I bought a set from tesco at £4: Horrid, horrid horrid. But Ok for emergencies...
ELS - have left with all sorts of excuses to hand such as I suddenly have an importnat meeting in the morning. Never had the heart to say it was all dowwn to aesthetics. Mind I did overcome my horror of geometric designs on Duvet Covers to marry Dear Charlie but then he is exceptional!

Go on you know you want to...

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