The Venting Thread

[downer]

Dean sends out memo with IMPORTANT INFO highlighted in the subject line.

The memo says that sometimes classes are moved to different rooms and faculty should check where their classes are. And that sometimes the roster changes in the first weeks.

I'll be ignoring the next "important" email from this dean.

[bioteacher]

I'm using sheets from Kohls, and those are all in-house brands. It's the fitted sheets that are wearing... I am not wrestling with flat sheets on a king mattress.
I'm getting 2 years at most out of them, which is unacceptable. Poly-cotton sheets from the past have lasted me a decade at least. I understand that eliminating synthetics can affect the life span, but the money I'm putting into these makes the short lifespan unacceptable.

[cathwen]

I have Calvin Klein 100% cotton sheets that I bought at Macy's when we lived in Big City--so they must be around eleven or twelve years old by now.  They've been great, but now the elastic at the corners of the fitted sheets is beginning to lose its stretchiness, and they're fading.  To say I've been pleased with them would be an understatement.

[mamselle]

If it's any consolation, there's an18th or 19th c. diary (can't recall the citation at the moment, sorry!) that refers to the process of turning sheets this way:

Sheets= 2 halves stitched together along the BF/CG seam thus:

        A‐--------------‐-----------B   C--------------------------D
          |                               |   |                               |
          |                               |   |                               |
          |                               |   |                               |
          ¿                              ¿  ¿                              ¿
          ¿                              ¿  ¿                              ¿
          |                               |   |                               |
        E----------------------------F  G--------------------------H

This was, at some regular interval, probably every 2-3 years, reversed, with the central seam ripped out and the  AE/DH edges joined and seamed instead.

Gave the sheets longer life and probably addressed the issue you're seeing.

M.

[ciao_yall]

If it's any consolation, there's an18th or 19th c. diary (can't recall the citation at the moment, sorry!) that refers to the process of turning sheets this way:

Sheets= 2 halves stitched together along the BF/CG seam thus:

        A‐--------------‐-----------B   C--------------------------D
          |                               |   |                               |
          |                               |   |                               |
          |                               |   |                               |
          ¿                              ¿  ¿                              ¿
          ¿                              ¿  ¿                              ¿
          |                               |   |                               |
        E----------------------------F  G--------------------------H

This was, at some regular interval, probably every 2-3 years, reversed, with the central seam ripped out and the  AE/DH edges joined and seamed instead.

Gave the sheets longer life and probably addressed the issue you're seeing.

M.

A sewing machine would cost more than new sheets.

[Thursday's_Child]

If it's any consolation, there's an18th or 19th c. diary (can't recall the citation at the moment, sorry!) that refers to the process of turning sheets this way:

Sheets= 2 halves stitched together along the BF/CG seam thus:

        A‐--------------‐-----------B   C--------------------------D
          |                               |   |                               |
          |                               |   |                               |
          |                               |   |                               |
          ¿                              ¿  ¿                              ¿
          ¿                              ¿  ¿                              ¿
          |                               |   |                               |
        E----------------------------F  G--------------------------H

This was, at some regular interval, probably every 2-3 years, reversed, with the central seam ripped out and the  AE/DH edges joined and seamed instead.

Gave the sheets longer life and probably addressed the issue you're seeing.

M.

A sewing machine would cost more than new sheets.

I'm sure that with a little practice you could do the sewing by hand in less time than it would take to walk to the store to buy new ones!

<ducks quickly and skurries off>

[ciao_yall]

If it's any consolation, there's an18th or 19th c. diary (can't recall the citation at the moment, sorry!) that refers to the process of turning sheets this way:

Sheets= 2 halves stitched together along the BF/CG seam thus:

        A‐--------------‐-----------B   C--------------------------D
          |                               |   |                               |
          |                               |   |                               |
          |                               |   |                               |
          ¿                              ¿  ¿                              ¿
          ¿                              ¿  ¿                              ¿
          |                               |   |                               |
        E----------------------------F  G--------------------------H

This was, at some regular interval, probably every 2-3 years, reversed, with the central seam ripped out and the  AE/DH edges joined and seamed instead.

Gave the sheets longer life and probably addressed the issue you're seeing.

M.

A sewing machine would cost more than new sheets.

I'm sure that with a little practice you could do the sewing by hand in less time than it would take to walk to the store to buy new ones!

<ducks quickly and skurries off>

I'll take my covered wagon to the dry goods store for a new spinning wheel while my husband picks the cotton.

[mamselle]

Actually, yes, it would take less than a half-hour to do the sewing by hand.

And the amount of labor/time/available thread/spinning expertise to make the cloth was the reason the turnings were done to begin with.

I was just teaching a child to spin wool last Saturday, and he covered all the relevant questions as well: How much wool did it take for a good, warm winter coat or cape? How long to spin it? Would you knit, crochet, or weave it? How long would it last?

I was impressed that an 8-year-old had that much insight into the process of cloth-making.

M.

[lillipat]

My mother used to turn sheets that way, and after a while she'd patch sheets to deal with the worn-out-where-the feet-are issue.  And no, we weren't particularly impoverished, and while the patched areas were noticeable, she took great care to use a fairly large patch and secure the loose, frayed, and torn places to the patch and not leave openings for unconscious feet to rip further holes.  (I have not continued her practice. I use the sound sections of the fitted sheets as muslins for costume patterns. Costs just as much as anyone else to buy the new sheet, but at least they get a second life.)

[Scout]

If it's any consolation, there's an18th or 19th c. diary (can't recall the citation at the moment, sorry!) that refers to the process of turning sheets this way:

Sheets= 2 halves stitched together along the BF/CG seam thus:

        A‐--------------‐-----------B   C--------------------------D
          |                               |   |                               |
          |                               |   |                               |
          |                               |   |                               |
          ¿                              ¿  ¿                              ¿
          ¿                              ¿  ¿                              ¿
          |                               |   |                               |
        E----------------------------F  G--------------------------H

This was, at some regular interval, probably every 2-3 years, reversed, with the central seam ripped out and the  AE/DH edges joined and seamed instead.

Gave the sheets longer life and probably addressed the issue you're seeing.

M.

I remember reading this in some book- maybe Little House on the Prairie, or Little Women, or some such. Driving me bonkers that I can't recall the book.

[mamselle]

I know, same here.

I don't recall it from Wilder's books, though it could have been described in that era as well....it was a longstanding practice.

I was thinking one of the diaries I've read, maybe Anna Green Winslow's---but now I'm thinking earlier than that.

It might have been much earlier, in fact...if you're thinking historical fiction/nonfiction, it might have been mentioned in one of Penniman's books; she's fairly detailed about domestic issues.

Or...maybe the Sister Frevisse books?

M.

[bioteacher]

I have a sewing machine but am as of yet unwilling to patch sheets that should not be falling apart this quickly. I am heading to my mom's tomorrow for a long weekend of sewing and "girl time" but I am not mending my sheets. The fabric was too narrow to fit a mattresses, which is why Laura stressed the need to get the stitching done well so the sheer would lie flat. I am not going to make my own king size sheets for the same reason. I just want to buy quality to start with.

[mamselle]

Sorry--I wasn't saying you had to, just ruminating on how long it's been a problem!

M.

[Parasaurolophus]

Logging in to my email takes me to Moodle... eLearn... instead. Argh.

[mamselle]

Unrelated to anything above....

So, in June you send a long, excited email asking if I'll be part of an upcoming program.

Yes, I'd be glad to.

Three months go by, and I've forgotten about it.

Then, last week, you ask if I'm still interested.

Well, yeah, maybe...but when and what exactly do you want?

Oh, in October? I have major amounts of nonsense going on in October....what day, what time?

If I'm prepping a whole program, it has to start now.

No, something else?

Well...what?

You want to meet...but when?

I give times; no reply.

If this isn't settled today, I can't...too much else going on.

Town historical societies can be great....or awful..

This one's shaping up to the latter, and it's too bad because I'd actually be very glad to do follow up work on the spring article I just wrote, even doing a more extensive study of the whole burying ground (with several very early stones that appear to have gone unstudied).

La vie...c'est toujours qqchose!

M.