Mechanical marvels
The wonders of antique machines plus some book things. Hmm, maybe I need a mechanical typewriter.
When we last left our fearless heroes … well, in the last episode, I shared my latest household addition — a beautiful antique Singer sewing machine. One of the reasons that I mentioned was repairability. It’s pretty much all metal, except for a couple of rubber bits and some Bakelite. And because so many of these were made before planned obsolescence was a thing, replacement parts are pretty common.
However, something I didn’t expect was the mechanical marvels that came with it. It’s lovely what they can do, without computers, without software that goes end-of-life, without screen.
I mean, what even is this thing?! (Okay, it’s a ruffler foot. How different were people’s lives that they had a foot just for making ruffles? I didn’t have a need for ruffles but apparently I’m going to make them now.)
It also came with a pintuck machine. It sews the one tuck while also marking where the next one should go. And you can see the buttonholer box underneath foot.
This didn’t come with it but it makes better buttonholes that my modern machine with the built in buttonhole function.
But this isn’t just about my wonderful new machine. It’s gotten me thinking about what we’ve lost by computerizing everything. I was out for a walk with a friend, and she notice a metal bucket in a “free” pile. It had a built-in stirring attachment, and she picked it up to mix cement in. We found out later that it was a bread kneading machine.
Sort of related, a couple of posts came across my Bluesky feed that I thought I’d share.
One was a person using a antique / modern hybrid treadle sewing machine in New York to sew custom embroidery around the Knicks game.
The other was a mechanical sculpture that is just enchanting.
Writing update
I’m wrapping up edits on a long short story, which you’ll find on Armchair Alien when it’s done. Soon I need to figure out what to write next. Next book in the Lyra Cycle? New Juniper Keys space archaeology adventure? Something completely unrelated?
Books Authors for your TBR shelf
At the moment, I’m beta reading a book by a fellow author so I haven’t read new books I can share. Last time around, I shared Peter J. Foote’s new release. He was also a guest author on Armchair Alien this month.
Hop on over and you’ll also find a new short story by Jeannette Bedard: Where there should have been apple pie. As an aside, there should always be pie.
Happy Reading!
— CR
Where to find my books
If you’d like to read any of my sci-fi or urban fantasy books, you can find them at your favourite online retailers. Or you can buy them direct from me on the Armchair Alien store.