I try not to look for them either, that's when I find the best ones! LOL
DH sometimes picks me up from work for lunch; there are 3-4 thrift shops near my office so after we eat we'll pick one and go check it out, just to see what's there. DH buys old records and old radios, and I search for sewing machines and sci fi books. So every once in a while, I go to lunch and come back to work with a new old machine.
Then I'm all antsy for the day to end so I can go home and play with my new toy!
I haven't got Betty here up and running quite yet. I had ordered a belt but it was the wrong size (even though my model number was listed, it's a little too big) so I just got another one in the mail yesterday, hopefully that one will fit better. She sort of sews with the larger belt but it slips too much to really judge her stitches. I also scored a tin with a complete set of cams for her on eBay and a manual for a nearly identical model so I'm pretty stoked about that, AND it turns out I already have an accessories tin that looks like what would have come with her originally so that's pretty cool too. I love getting a machine to be "complete" with all her "jewelry"! Next is to get the girl stitching properly and externals all cleaned up (her innards are all greased and oiled, and she has her new needle clamp in place) and then I want to see if I can't get her case looking a little less grody. It doesn't stink, but it LOOKS like it should.
I have some vacation time coming up in December and will be renting a house on the coast for most of a week, I'm thinking Betty will be the perfect machine to bring - seems appropriate I'd be looking out at a turquoise sea while I sew on a turquoise machine! Talk about being in my happy place!