Oh, my, it has been way too long since your trashy friend Ruby Re-Usable has posted anything, not really sure why anymore, but, well, here I am now, ready to start blogging again.

So what have I been up to since the ODD Trash Menagerie entry back in June 2016?  Hmmm, perhaps posting on Ruby Re-Usable’s Facebook artist page or sometimes lost in the rabbit holes of Pinterest and Instagram.  Let’s see, there was the Vintage Sewing Machine event that I organized for the Lacey Library in September 2016, with a dozen old & antique sewing machines for the public to see and try sewing with (including hand-cranks and a treadle), and another Day of  the Dead workshop for Nova Middle School in October, as well as coordinating the 14th annual Duck the Malls Crafts and Art sale benefit for the Olympia Film Society in December.  Spent 2 weeks visiting family & friends in New Jersey and New England in July (which is better and worse than it sounds) and 2 weeks on the Big Island of Hawaii in December (which is as delicious and fragrant and fun as you imagine).  My whole website went down this summer and it took awhile to get back up, and there was the hot water heater fiasco that flooded the basement and created a remodeling project that meant moving around and letting go of a lot of art and art supplies and some sentimental stuff, which took a toll on my creative psyche.

Also, truth be told, acquisition syndrome also took hold, so there has been too much time spent thrift store shopping and searching online for various vintage sewing machines that suddenly seemed so alluring and necessary for the projects that never really materialized because anxiety over things beyond my control metastasized from an ennui into an artistic depression that felt/feels overwhelming.

I did, however, manage to use my herd hoard modest collection of vintage sewing machines for a functional recycled art project: a crazy quilt patchwork duvet cover made from an unwanted aloha shirt via Second-hand Sid, plus fabric scraps from friends and some new material purchased at the local quilting store.  My progress is documented on my Ruby Re-Usable flickr, but here are some of the highlights:

1st block, sewn on a Singer 301

last block, sewn on a Singer 201 hand-crank

finished Crazy Quilt duvet cover by Ruby Re-Usable

Well, that is it for this month, hope to post more this year, wish me luck!  Oh, and Happy Year of the Rooster!!