Monday, March 4, 2013

Pencast from the Park; and a Few Sightings

Yesterday, I headed off to the park with a notebook and a pen, putting some distance between myself and the computer! I only lasted about half an hour, a very abbreviated "digital sabbath" but it was just enough time to produce a pencast:


The antiques fair - a collection of expensive bric-a-brac, but no typewriters. But all the way across town, at the flea market...


We sighted this ferociously guarded pastel blue Brother - touch at your peril!

A fine little Hermes Baby;

And an absolutely immaculate Lettera 32 with international QWERTY keyboard.

This Mignon has been around the block - and then some! Still, it keeps getting trotted out, so I shall continue "sighting" it.


This Gundka, from the same seller, is well on the way to becoming a flea market staple as well. The pool of prospective buyers is quite small as it is, and at these prices... oh, well.

I'm so pleased that my fellow typospherians are sharing with me pictures of sewing machine sightings - here are a few of my favorites from this weekend. The Singer above was so, so tempting! I practically squealed when I came across it. But then I composed myself, took a picture, and kept moving. Whew.

This Bernina Record 530 was my second favorite of the night. This model, from the '60s, is fairly common as Berninas go, but this specimen was absolutely pristine and looked spectacular. It uses a knee pedal instead of the foot pedals we have all become accustomed to seeing.


I have a healthy respect for treadles and would like to try one someday. This one looked pretty good, even the leather cable seems intact.

A fine little Singer completes the sightings - not all that little, come to think of it, but still very nice; the gold decals have been well preserved.


So, meteorologists apparently consider March 1 the start of spring, but there are very few signs of it around here. Although the sunshine is deceptive (still so cold!), I'll take it - much better than the relentless gray skies! Is spring making an appearance where you are?

7 comments:

  1. Those little Brothers are so common around here, it seems, but such great little machines. Thanks again for the great photographic tour!

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  2. "...ferociously guarded pastel blue Brother" Yeah!

    I find those skulls quite interesting; the middle one is a Cercopithecus Lomamiensis Monkey, a newly discovered species endemic to the Lomami forest basin in the Democratic Republic of Congo. ( :

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  3. I don't know whether to take Ton seriously or not, despite that emoticon ...

    Over here the daffodils are starting bloom, but we had a light hail shower this evening. I can't wait for warmth.

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  4. That's a fond memory, typing in that park. Fabulous view. I liked the cat-shaped bric-a-brac in that first photo.

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  5. I also like the skulls. The Singer is a fabulous looking machine!

    As for Spring, it feels like a long way off here in the Kansas City metro area. This time last week we were in the midst of a blizzard. We had another one the week before with a combined total of around 25 inches of wet, heavy snow and lots of drifts. It is slowly melting off the streets and the pile from our driveway is over four feet deep.

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  6. "Digital Sabbath" - I like that phrase! I'm trying to get some distance between myself, the phone and the laptop. I've only made it to the lounge so far. :(

    And a "balmy 4 degrees"?! Please come and take all the hot and humid from Darwin.
    Or send some nice cool cold air here. :p

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  7. I love the styling on that 50's Singer. Very sharp. I think it is a style that is long over-due to be revived.

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