Still Playing With Stencils

While the starter edition of the Linearity Curve program is severely limited, it remains my best tool for removing backgrounds and cleaning up blemishes from bad scans. I'm finding it quite enjoyable to play around with the program while watching TV with my husband. When I'm ready to create the cut files, I plan to subscribe for a month so I can export SVG files again.

I'm hoping that once we've finished emptying out our storage, I'll be able to pull out my Cricut and start experimenting with cutting out one of the designs. By then, hopefully, I'll have decided which one to tackle first. LOL

Here are the latest options I'm considering.

I actually edited this one because I thought it would look better with more petals.

Excelsior Fresco Stencils catalog, 1924

Excelsior Fresco Stencils catalog

Blue Label catalog, 1900

Excelsior Fresco Stencils catalog

Devoe Art Stencils, c. 1910

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I tried to make the ties look a little better, but they still need some work.

Blue Label catalog

Living Room Stencil?

I've been playing with my stencil files again. I don't know for sure if I can cut them out with my Cricut, but if I can't, I suspect I have at least one friend with a laser cutter. (I'm hoping, anyway.)

I've spent like four days playing with images trying to come up with a stencil that I like but I don't really know what I want and I keep changing my mind. The downstairs rooms are more difficult to choose colors because we can't use light paint colors because they will get lost in the wall paint color.

I think I maybe have settled on this first one but this one will be a lot more difficult to fudge corners and add extra bits to fill space.

Sherwin Williams 41 from their 1910 catalog

I also prepped the files for this stencil, but I'm worried with all that orange it won't look good over the green wall paint. It does have the advantage of being stencil-able in one pass.

Blue Label 1559 from the 1900 catalog

This third option was the one I picked to do several years ago but now I've mostly abandoned it because I'm not convinced it will look good over the green paint.

Alabastine 305 from their 1920 catalog

I am experimenting with adding a large painted field below the flower but that may not work well because the stencil area is so large. 

One of the main reasons for this post is because I wanted to mention a new-to-me program I found that is super helpful for making stencils. I was trying to use my Cricut Design Space software and it was super frustrating because it just wouldn't do what I wanted it to. It's possible it would work better if I paid them the $15/month subscription, but I only use it a few times a year and have no use for any of their art files.

Anyway, when I clicked on one of my svg files it came up with Curve software. What? I don't even remember downloading that, but I must have. Anyway, its long name is Linearity Curve Graphic Design and the starter version (which is what I've been using) is available for free. I just uploaded my stencil clip art file, asked it to trace it, and it was super easy to remove the background and make changes. I have only used it for a few hours and I'm already a fan.

Update later: I spoke too soon on the free Curve program. I made the HUGE mistake of letting it update and now it's practically worthless unless you pay them. Sigh.

Living Room Cabinet

Jeff and I are thrilled that we've finally put the last piece of furniture into place in our living room! It's not perfect, but it's absolutely going to tide us over until we relocate to our retirement quarters. A little confession here: I snagged this piece from FB Marketplace a few months back without fully grasping how large it is. Sure, the listing had measurements, but did I measure our space? Nope! Lesson learned.

We initially wanted it against the other wall, but there is a floor register in that corner, and alas, it has no feet to lift it up. So, we made do and shifted it to the other wall where it only partially covers the vent. 

Giving it a good polish with Feed-N-Wax has made it look fantastic. I'm looking forward to finally unloading the plastic file tubs of office supplies that have been kicking around the dining room for several months.

After scrolling back through earlier posts, I now realize I never mentioned we also swapped out our dining room table. The amish cherry table we got back in August 2015 was lovely, but the chairs were wobbly and were beyond saving. So when I stumbled upon an absolutely stunning Joinery table on Craigslist in September 2022, it was too good to pass up. It came with just two matching chairs, but I hoped I'd eventually find more. I was even ready to part with the two original chairs when I found a set that would work. 

After unsuccessfully searching for more than a year, this past February, we finally decided to just order four matching Kelly chairs from The Joinery. They're expected to arrive in about six months, and we can hardly wait!

I'm grateful my husband was able to go back to work so we can afford to make some changes. It's been fun reworking our living space this year.

Living Room Reimagined

We recently had our living room rug professionally cleaned, which was quite the expense. However, they included a moth treatment, which gives us hope that this rug won’t suffer the same fate as some of our previous ones.

This week also marked the arrival of our "new-to-us" living room furniture. We decided to give it a fresh look by reupholstering it with new fabric, as the original was quite worn and I was keen on a different color scheme.

We opted for different fabrics for the chairs and the couch, a decision I'm now contemplating with mixed feelings now that everything is in place. It's a done deal, but I'm considering purchasing more of the green fabric used for the chairs while it's still in stock, just in case I decide to reupholster the couch to match in the future. The couch is likely to see more wear and tear compared to the chairs, after all.

Immediately after the furniture delivery, I tackled the sun-faded arms with some Howard Feed-N-Wax. It was surprisingly simple to use and made a significant difference. Ideally, I should go over all the wood frames, but time was tight, so I only managed the arms, which were in the sorriest state.

Down the line, I’m thinking of sanding the arms of the couch to smooth out some light claw marks left by a previous owner's pets, but they’re not a major issue for me now. Honestly, I won’t be shocked if Bailey ends up adding a few of her own marks.

Despite the additional costs for reupholstering, securing this furniture set was a fantastic deal. It’s nice to have seating in our living room once more. With just one more piece of furniture to reintroduce to the space, our living room makeover will be complete. It's been refreshing to create a bit of change.

Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention In-Ex Upholstery, a crucial part of this furniture transformation journey. When I stumbled upon this perfect set, my living room was still home to the oak furniture. Logistically, retrieving and then transporting the furniture to a workshop would have been a nightmare. In-Ex Upholstery, for a reasonable fee, picked-up the furniture from Wilsonville, transported it to their workshop, and even stored it while I took my time selecting and ordering the perfect fabric. When they called to tell me our furniture was finished, I asked if I could delay delivery so we could have the living room rug cleaned as well. They graciously housed our furniture for nearly three months, without complaint or additional charge.

Once our rug was cleaned and the room was prepped to welcome its new additions, In-Ex delivered the furniture back to us. My experience with them was nothing short of fantastic. Should I ever find myself embarking on future upholstery projects, they'll be my first phone call.

Dining Room Rug Cleaned

Our dining room rug was looking pretty grungy so we decided to have it cleaned. We took it into Renaissance Rug Cleaning a few weeks ago and finally picked it up today. It looks much nicer, they even managed to get the barbeque sauce off it.

We spent more on the cleaning than we did when we bought it used, but I think it was worth it because I really do like the pattern and colors. We dropped off the living room rug when we picked this one up. I'd never had rugs cleaned before so I decided to start with the cheap one first, just in case I wasn't happy with the results.

Once I spend a bit more time tidying up the dining room, I'll take photos of it in place.

I also found a set of solid cherry joinery furniture for the living room. The pieces are currently at In-Ex Upholstery company; they're being recovered with green/earthtone fabrics.

They lived in a sunroom and have some sun-fade damage on the arms, but I'm sure I can repair it. That's the advantage of solid wood furniture. Once we get the cleaned living room rug back, I'll have them deliver the finished furniture.

Basement Work Prep

We've worked all week emptying the basement. There is still quite a lot to do, but we've made great progress. I thought the 10x20 storage was way too big, but it turns out we had a lot of stuff squirreled away down in the basement. 

We've got all the furniture out that we want to keep and now I'm just working on sifting/sorting the loose stuff.

The rugs are going away tomorrow on our local
Buy Nothing group. The recliner is also going away.

We brought several pieces of furniture to storage from the main floor to clear space for exercise and for the TV setup. We bought this little media center off craigslist to use during the remodel. We'll resell it once we can move back down into the basement.

Christmas is canceled this year. We don't have the bandwidth to deal with the remodel and the decorating. At least we have the loaner range now so we can have a decent meal on the day.

Loaner Range

BASCO finally brought us a loaner range today after I had a good rant at them last week. Yeah, Thanksgiving sucked with no oven. This is on loan until our Fisher & Paykel comes in. 

BASCO did not order the new range until this week so it is likely it will be more likely the end of January before we get it. I very much regret ordering the Ilve back in May; I never would have if I'd had any idea of the headache it would turn into.

For Jeff's birthday in November, I bought him an Oculus Quest 2. He immediately signed up for the Supernatural exercise app at the recommendation of a friend. We've really been enjoying exercising to music. We actually had to empty out the front parlor area to make space for us to stand there and swing around our arms. It's the only space on the main floor that has enough clearance below the light fixtures.

Our main floor is going to be quite cramped with the addition of the TV and gaming computer. We're planning to take most of the furniture to storage to make room during the basement project.

So Much Purging

We have spent weeks sifting old boxes. On the bright side, opening 15-year old boxes is like going to the store and getting new stuff without paying. It's also a lot easier to get rid of stuff we haven't touched for so long.

We've filled up the car twice this past week to get rid of stuff. And I've had a parade of people coming by to pick up free stuff. I love our neighborhood Buy Nothing lists.

Some of the mess remaining in the basement is stuff that needs to go in for recycling. It will hang out until we get our truck back from the body shop. Some uninsured moron decided to hit it last week. The front bumper was totally crushed in.

The living room is still a mess, but it does look better than it did.

Here's how it looked on Aug 19.

Here's how it looks today. 6 more days to get this cleaned up.

Sifting Stuff Again

We are going to have out-of-town guests over Labor Day so we're trying to get the upstairs bedrooms cleaned up. They still had big piles of boxes sitting around that had been disgorged when we cleared out the closet to build in the cabinetry.

(I haven't given up on the stained glass. I am definitely planning to finish it this year, but our weather has been so hot that I really can't spend all day down in the freezing basement and then go up to bed in the unseasonably hot upstairs bedrooms. I don't get a lot of sleep when the weather is consistently over 100℉. We really need to get a bed down in the basement before next summer.)

Anyway, I have been trying to talk myself into cleaning upstairs, but it turns out I like quilting more than I like cleaning. LOL 

Today, I decided to try something drastic. I asked Jeff to help me carry all the piles of stuff lying around in the bedrooms down to the living room so I could get it all in one place. I'm hoping it will make it easier to sift. Plus, it has the advantage of being located in a cooler area of the house.

It's quite a lot when you get it all in one place. I have two weeks to get this mess cleaned up. =)

Six Months of WOOFA

I'm six months into my year of trying to finish sewing room projects. I joined the WOOFA challenge in February because it seemed like a fun way to focus my effort. July has not been a great month for me because I got distracted with house stuff and it's been really hot which tends to make my upstairs sewing room too warm to work in.

I finished recovering the living room furniture. It feels good to check off this task.

I also finished my Xmas quilt in July. It's King size so I can't take a good photo of the complete top.

This is the first time I have ever sewn on a border with mitered corners.

Here's my WOOFA list to date. I've finished more than half the list! Yay me! Now that I have plenty of Xmas fabric scraps, I'll probably make some placemats before I put the leftover fabric away.

Bind Batik Quilt (when returned from quilter)

Halloween Monster Wreath (started)
Harvest Placemats
Harvest Quilt
Jeff’s Georgian Coat

Louisa’s Dress Batik

Rag Quilt Grey
Rag Quilt Solar System
Rag Quilt Xmas

Sea Swept Quilt

Square Dance Skirt (elastic, eyelet)
Stack & Whack Quilt
Stenciled Pillow (panel stenciled already)

Tie Large Disaster Quilt (or just ditch it)

Xmas Placemats

Bind Dinosaur Lap Quilt
Canvas Bag Repair (replace handles)
Denim Circle Quilt
Denim Circle Tote Bag
Jeff’s Lumbar Pillow
Log Cabin Quilt (started decades ago)
Louisa’s Dress Y-P
Louisa’s Dress: Remodel sq. dance skirt to Louisa Dress
Mug Rugs
Navy/Gold Placemats
Rag Quilt Floral Y-G-R-P
Recover Living Room Furniture
Sharon’s Lumbar Pillow
Summer Placemats
Tie/Quilt Scrap Lap Quilt
White Brocade Napkins
Woven Denim Tote Bag
Xmas Quilt

May's WOOFA Finishes

May was not an especially productive month for me as far as my WOOFA list. It's been sunny and not-too-hot outside so I've been focusing my efforts toward working in the yard. The only sewing project I managed to entirely finish was the navy and gold placemats.

But I did manage to make progress on a project that was really difficult for me: the living room reupholstery project. I finally summoned the courage to sew the couch fabric and I think they turned out decent. There were definitely mistakes made; I still haven't figured out how to get the fabric stretched really tight. I'll probably have to remove them occasionally and restretch and staple the fabric. At least this fabric should hold up a lot better to wear.

I cannot finish the back cushions because I don't have zippers for them. I ordered some back in March right before all the coronavirus shut-downs and I never received them. At this point, it doesn't look like I ever will. I think I'll have to call around to some of the local upholstery shops and see if they're open and if they sell zippers.