Saturday, February 18, 2012

Vintage 1958 Brother Sewing Machine

So, my other sewing machine, a Singer 411G, was causing me some frustration. It came in a small cabinet, and I'd been on the hunt for a larger desk for it, with drawers for storage. I finally found one, the dimensions seemed right, and the person who sold it to me said it was a Singer cabinet. Turns out that wasn't the case, as my machine fit when it was in the raised position, but it wouldn't lower into the cabinet. While on the hunt for a new desk, I ran across an ad for this vintage Brother machine. I knew next to nothing about Brother sewing machines, but I just couldn't pass up this adorable machine. And did I mention it's pink?!


It came in a wonderful desk with 3 good sized drawers for storage, as well as two metal tins full of accessories. One of the tins had about a dozen different foot attachments, including a ruffler (I've been wanting one!) and several sizes of hemmers. And I was thrilled to discover that my low-shank walking foot from my old Singer machine fits it. I'm glad I decided to keep  it instead of selling it when that old machine broke. I also got a handful of bobbins, the attachments' book, and the original machine manual.

It was pretty grimy when I got it, but I've got it all cleaned up, oiled up, and running like a dream :-) The finish is mostly in fantastic condition, with some nicks on the machine bed and some wear on the feed knob. The decals are all pristine. And I absolutely LOVE just how 50's this machine is, from the chrome detailing, to the grills, to the awesome Brother logo, to the milkshake pink colour. It looks like it should be sitting on the table of a rockin' 50's diner. Maybe I was born in the wrong decade, I think I was meant to be a teen in the 50's!





oh, and check out the neat telescopic spool pin! Slides down, and then pops back up with a touch. Fun!




Thursday, February 16, 2012

Love This Lens!

I recently discovered Photography On The Net, which is a forum for Canon owners. They have these great, individual discussion threads devoted to each of Canon's lenses, where members post photos they've taken with the lenses. I have one of those threads to thank for my recent purchase of Canon's 85mm f/1.8 lens. I haven't had much of a chance to really play with it yet, but I did take it out a couple of times since it arrived on Tuesday. Here's a quick shot of Penny I took, right out of the box:


Already I love this lens. The autofocus is fast, and SO sharp. And the bokeh is phenomenal. 

Tuesday was just an awesome day, all around. Not only was my new lens delivered, but my wonderful husband surprised me with a dozen white roses (my favourite!) for Valentine's Day. It was extra surprising, because in 15 years together, we've never made any sort of big deal about Valentine's Day. Plus, he's working out west, so I wouldn't have expected anything, regardless. He'll be home on Monday for two weeks, and I can't wait, we all miss him so much.



In other news, I just acquired a new vintage Brother sewing machine. And it's pink! I just finished cleaning her up and took some photos this afternoon. I'll share once I've had a chance to edit them!

Monday, February 6, 2012

A few photos from this weekend

I had a couple of little get-togethers this weekend. The girls I knit with celebrated 3 years together with a pot luck on Saturday, and then the family got together on Sunday to celebrate my mother-in-law's 60th birthday. These are a few of my favourite shots from the weekend.

Josh, my 9 year old

Bree, 11 weeks, one of my knitting girl's baby


Molly and Sean, my niece and nephew

Asher, my 6 year old.

And a little collage of my (unsuccessful) attempt to get a nice photo of all three of my kids together at the same time LOL