Nice people thread part 8 - worth the wait

lostinrates

Btw ndg, I am going to make our curtains too, but I'm dreading it. I am determined to use serious interlining which from experience i remember breaking sewing machine needles on before. sadly thats about all i really remember about sewing curtains and blinds, but i fully believe if i have done it once i can do it again. we have a pair of curtains from mulberry,..and before anyone asks no of course I didn't buy them...anyway, they are so interlinked they are the warmth of duvets, it makes the most amazing difference.

I am going to have the roman blinds made though, I think the better result is probably with the expenditure, as they are a bit less forgiving.

GDB2222

PasturesNew wrote: »

I had a new shower room created from half a bathroom ..... my whole shower unit cost me less than £150 ... in fact, the entire job, including remove old units, put up a stud wall with a zig zag to create cubby space in the leftover half, mira shower, lovely enclosure, quadrant base (not plastic), loo, sink, all the tiles, heated towel rail, electrician, builder, taps, nice splashback tiles, mirror and lighting cost me £1500!

That's a very good price. I think you should get a job as a clerk of the works.

neverdespairgirl

lostinrates wrote: »

Btw ndg, I am going to make our curtains too, but I'm dreading it. I am determined to use serious interlining which from experience i remember breaking sewing machine needles on before. sadly thats about all i really remember about sewing curtains and blinds, but i fully believe if i have done it once i can do it again. we have a pair of curtains from mulberry,..and before anyone asks no of course I didn't buy them...anyway, they are so interlinked they are the warmth of duvets, it makes the most amazing difference.

I am going to have the roman blinds made though, I think the better result is probably with the expenditure, as they are a bit less forgiving.

I felt quite smug when I finished a pair.

I used the curtains, lining, and interlining, for insulation. It did make them heavier, but I didn't break any needles.

lostinrates

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

I felt quite smug when I finished a pair.

I used the curtains, lining, and interlining, for insulation. It did make them heavier, but I didn't break any needles.

I probably had all sorts of tension thingymagigies wrong as well

I quite like stitching by hand, but.......the curtains will make battling with the sewing machine worthwhile.

I think the mulbery curtains might have a foil layer in them too. But they feel less like normal interlined curtains and more like they have three old fashioned wooden blankets in them. They also are weighted.


Tbh, I don't much care for the look of them. But they are so warm and fit the window they are at well.

GDB2222

lostinrates wrote: »

I hate bidets, though have to say, now everything is so cold a tart's wash with a bidet would be nicer than braving the horrid shower or a cold strip wash at the sink.

I'm sorry to be judgemental, LIR, but I think you should be using enough electric fires to stay comfortable in this horrid weather. I know it's not green, and it's expensive, but in my view it's one of those expenses you just need to incur. You could use your health as a justification.

Plus, you can add the cost to the claim against the disastrous boiler people. They may not pay it, but you can add it to the claim.

PasturesNew

I'd have hand-sewed the curtains for big windows.... no machine, never used one - looks like a recipe for disaster with me and my clumsiness

Or, I'd have just trawled endless sites, like ebay, to get material at best price, then sat on that for nigh on a year until I found a seamstress I could afford. After all, it's only straight lines if you've got a machine, so shouldn't cost much.

When you move areas you notice things that are missing/abundant in the new area compared to others. This area is literally TEEMING with people offering sewing - loads of shops do it. LOADS.

There's probably a good arbitrage business somewhere - between an area that has something and an area that doesn't.

lostinrates

GDB2222 wrote: »

I'm sorry to be judgemental, LIR, but I think you should be using enough electric fires to stay comfortable in this horrid weather. I know it's not green, and it's expensive, but in my view it's one of those expenses you just need to incur. You could use your health as a justification.

Plus, you can add the cost to the claim against the disastrous boiler people. They may not pay it, but you can add it to the claim.

Even the rooms with electric fires in them aren't that warm tbh. It would need a battilion of them.

I have lit the woodburner to day and the sitting room raised from seven to twelve within a couple of hours. It did hit thirteen but has fallen back, I don't know why....probably a draught from the next room when I let the dogs out.

It's almost over for this year.....

I could also chop my hair off to keep more comfortable, (brrrr, cold wet, long hair, but I ain't doing that either. ). I will try and remember to use the hairdryer though.

SingleSue

I can't make curtains...but I know a woman who can!

My mum was a seamstress before she married and she can make just about anything, she even did my first school uniform (never again, I bought my own from then on - it wasn't that it was badly made, just that you could tell it was homemade and not shop bought)

I can however, take up hems, sew up holes, take in trouser legs, put darts in and make cuddly toys....all by hand, me and sewing machines just do not get on. I used to do a lot of altering of my own clothes when I was younger to make them more fashionable or just for an individual idea (I always hated to be one of the crowd) but now the only altering is making things shorter because getting jeans in my length and cheaply is not always the easiest to find.

Two of the boys are out at the moment, James organised a music jam at the youth club he is a volunteer at, so middle son has gone...cue lots of rushing around at 8 'o' clock this morning picking drum kits and children up!

GDB2222

lostinrates wrote: »

Even the rooms with electric fires in them aren't that warm tbh. It would need a battilion of them.

I have lit the woodburner to day and the sitting room raised from seven to twelve within a couple of hours. It did hit thirteen but has fallen back, I don't know why....probably a draught from the next room when I let the dogs out.

It's almost over for this year.....

I could also chop my hair off to keep more comfortable, (brrrr, cold wet, long hair, but I ain't doing that either. ). I will try and remember to use the hairdryer though.

I don't know about a battalion. Half a platoon should do it. 10 fan heaters delivered from Amazon for just over £100 => 20 Kw of additional heat on top of whatever you have at the moment. That should be toasty warm in several rooms.

Don't worry about the £100 to buy them, as it's the £50 a day to run them all you should be concerned about! That £50 a day is an exaggeration, actually, as once the rooms have heated up you won't need to keep them all on 24/7.

lostinrates

GDB2222 wrote: »

I don't know about a battalion. Half a platoon should do it. 10 fan heaters delivered from Amazon for just over £100 => 20 Kw of additional heat on top of whatever you have at the moment. That should be toasty warm in several rooms.

Don't worry about the £100 to buy them, as it's the £50 a day to run them all you should be concerned about! That £50 a day is an exaggeration, actually, as once the rooms have heated up you won't need to keep them all on 24/7.

Honestly, I think that I should have done this several weeks ago. Now it's just too near the end of the cold to bother.