Out of My Depth....in Dunelm Mill.

So, for far too many years the curtains in our bedroom have been AWFUL - they actually grate against my sensibilities, but I haven't had the time to sort them out.

Actually that is a huge excuse - what I meant to say was, I haven't had the courage to sort them out. Me and soft furnishings just do NOT go together.

The other issue is that our walls are made from cottage cheese so the curtain track is not at the top of the window, but actually within the window frame, meaning that the header tape needs to be 6 inches below the top of the curtain which equals Custom Made Curtains, which possiby equals a lot of money.

Frustratingly,I can't just wander into a shop, purchase ready mades and walk out - oh no , I have to speak to someone about it and I don't know the language - it's pathetic really!

So, today I had a day off and I took a deep breath, after spending the morning in prayer - I'm not kidding, but that's for another blog maybe and I wasn't just praying about curtains - I went to the local Dunelm Mill to chat things through.

After explaining what I needed to a helpful and friendly lady and making it very clear that I wasn't at all confident in this area, by actually saying, 'I am not at all confident in this area', to which she responded, 'You and me both, love' , she told me that she couldn't help me because they only did 6 inch header tape at the TOP of their curtains and that facility was only available in the Platinum Range, and something about me must have told her that I just wasn't a Platinum Range kid of girl.

However, she knew some people who could help me and escorted me round the corner to the Custom Made Section - my heart sank!

I had to tell my woeful tale again to a young lady who sucked through her teeth and had to refer to someone else, then beckoning me over to explain for the 3rd time what I thought I needed. I said, in a hopeful way that I couldn't possibly be the only person with this problem/. opportunity, but the looks on their three A level sewing faces told me that I was, and that they would have to ring the Custom Makers in Leicester to find out if this had ever been done before, while indicating to me that the Custom Makers were a touchy bunch who don't like change essentially. They are not even in transition!

At this point, I just want run away and I make the fatal error of telling them that that some other curtains in our house were made by a kind friend who didn't even flinch when I told her my problem - however the curtains I that I now need are really too big to ask her again.

They ask me to wait and slope off!

They return telling me that the Custom Makers are at lunch and can I come back? I know that if I walk out of this place, I will not return, so I helpfully suggest that I will browse around and maybe get a coffee, in their quite nice cafe. ( Another blog...hilarious!)

Eventually, I go back and one of the girls looks at me - she's in the middle of remembering a number - so she points at me and nods, then writes the number down and disappears.

I am asked twice if I need help (!) and respond by saying that I think I am already being helped, but am not quite sure, and then some one shouts, 'Is there a lady in a pink jumper out there?' (A dusty pink hoodie if you dont mind, but there you go)

Hurrah, they can help me,I am asked to go a choose the material I'd like and in a flash, it seems, my order is being taken.

I ask how much, expecting a substantial amount and recieve a lovely surprise - nowhere near as much as I thought, so I check the measurements again and it's all correct.

So, in four weeks time, there will be an update, but I feel quite grown up at the moment - I have ordered some curtains - a milestone!