Stencil for Wall

Finished

Andy wanted a painted area in the stuga similar to one that was painted by aunt Joann's friend in the old family cabin years ago. Since I can't free-hand paint, I decided to make another stencil, after gaining some experience with the cedar chest and the cardigan. I found a pretty simple design online and cast it to the TV (note- you can't do this with the cast button within Chrome but with the Windows Connect feature  Win+K). I knew I wanted the stencil to be 22" wide, so I adjusted the image to that width on the TV.

I traced half the design with paper, then went over the lines with Sharpie, which was a bit more challenging than you'd think, because the enlarged image was somewhat pixilated. Then folding the paper in half against a bright window I traced the other half so I could ensure the design was symmetrical on each side. I traced the design from paper onto a sheet of mylar then cut the mylar with the heated stencil cutter. I decided what paint colors to use from the same cedar chest project. I don't have a good eye for color design, so I asked ChatGPT to help me arrange the colors. 

I centered the stencil on the wall and stood on a ladder to paint, 2 coats.

Alabama Chanin-Style Reverse Applique Cardigan

I enjoyed reading several of Alabama Chanin's design books from the library and especially admired how a blogger approached the techniques using a cardigan pattern. One of the library books came with a disc with a few PDF stencil patterns on it. I took a practice run by making a scarf. I paid to have a 20"x30" print job done, then traced the shapes onto 6 mil. thick plastic with a sharpie. I then proceeded to carve out each shape with an Exacto knife working on a big piece of cardboard. This took more hours than I can even remember, but I just kept plugging away at it. 

Large print of stencil pattern- Anna's Garden from Alabama Chanin

Pattern traced on plastic- ready to start cutting

I cut out the Helen's Closet Blackwoods Cardigan pattern, size 10 in the shorter view. I almost cut out the bands and cuffs from the darker fabric, which would have been a waste, but I caught myself.

Outer fabric needed to include bands and cuffs

Inner fabric just fronts, back and sleeves

Next, I used my hand-cut stencil to stencil the cut pieces. I experimented with black paint vs navy paint and found the black was too stark so I went with navy.

I used blue tape to secure the stencil over the fabric pieces, and I mixed the acrylic paint (in an old peanut butter jar lid) with about 1:1 water and used a pounce brush. The stenciling took time. I had to wash the stencil in the laundry sink after stenciling each piece, and I discovered that I hadn't done a very good job on one of the fronts and had to go back to darken the paint in a few areas. The back was just a little wider than the stencil, so I filled in the sides with a few additional leaf figures.

Back

Fronts

All pieces completed and touched-up

After the paint was fully dry, I used small scissors to pre-cut small snips in all of the stenciled figures so they would be easier to open later with less risk of cutting through the bottom layer. This was a good tip from the blogger I'd referenced above.

Using a hoop, I stitched running stiches around each of the stenciled shapes, which took months to get through.

Stitching during a car ride

When cutting away the top fabric once stitched, I learned that pointed scissors too easily cut through the bottom fabric and I needed to make a few repairs. Once I started using my small Gingher scissors with the taller blade between the two fabrics and tweezers to hold up the top layer, I was able to do this safely, but it was time-consuming. I also learned my Ginghers are dull, so I had to alternate with another small pair of scissors.

I finished stitching the back on our trip to Glacier and Banff

Once I'd finished hand stitching the back, fronts and sleeves, I proceeded to sew them together and add the finishing bands. I'm pleased with the final fit.

Materials:

• 20" X 30" print job for stencil PDF at Fedex store, $14
• Stencil plastic, 6 mil thickness, $14
• Craft knife, $10
• Blackwoods cardigan digital pattern, $16
• Pattern printing, AO 2 pages plus shipping, $10
• Small bottle Creatix paint, $5
• 2 Wax brushes, $10
• 2 colors of knit jersey from SR Harris, 1.5 yds each, and Coats button & craft thread, $22

This project took a long time. I started cutting the stencil in April 2024. I cut out the pieces and painted them in Jan 2025. I hand-stitched off and on through 2025, and assembled the cardigan in Feb 2026.

Laundry Stripping

I've used powdered Tide detergent forever, and have been happy with how it cleans, but Tide alone hasn't been able to fix built up oils in pillowcases. I learned detailed steps for laundry stripping on Reddit.

The water is supposed to stay hot for hours, and many people strip laundry in a cooler, so I lugged our heavy 15 gallon cooler up the steps and put it into the bathtub so it could be easily filled and drained. Filling turned out to be a problem because the cooler wouldn't fit under the spigot, so I folded a flexible cutting board to shunt the water into the cooler. 

I filled the cooler halfway with hot water (about 7 gallons) and added 1.5 cups of Tide with Bleach (which contains both lipase to cut oils and oxygen for stains and odors). I used a paint stick to stir the solution until the detergent was dissolved, then added two sets of sheets and submerged them. I sealed the cooler and let it soak for 8 hours. The water was quite warm still after 8 hours, so the cooler worked. I drained the cooler into the tub and used a 5 gallon bucket to get the drained sheets to the washing machine. I set the machine to hot water, heavy soil and an extra rinse, and I poured 1 cup of 4% ammonia solution on the sheets and put Tide powder in the dispenser. I cleaned the cooler with vinegar and then Simple Green to limit the scent of the detergent. 

The pillowcases did come out whiter and cleaner. This is a fair bit of effort, so I wouldn't see doing this more than 1-2 times/year based on need.

Ham Buns

These are great for a party.

• 2 lbs ham (I buy whole boneless ham portion from Costco and slice it)
• 1 lb swiss cheese, sliced
• 24 small/Hawaiian buns

Prepare sandwiches and put in two 9x13 pans.

Mix, boil then cool for 10 min:

• 2 sticks butter
• 2 Tbsp yellow mustard
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar (recipe calls for 4, I find that too sweet)
• 2 Tbsp poppyseeds, optional

Baste liquid over sandwiches. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Bake at 325 for 25 min, uncovered 5-10. Serve hot.

Before basting and baking

Grilled Vegetables with Garlic Aioli

Marinated Grilled Vegetables

This can be grilled or oven roasted. For the oven, I found I needed to finish them with a few minutes under the broiler to get them truly browned.

Vegetables

1-2 eggplants

1 lb zucchini

1 lb sweet mini peppers

1 lb asparagus

1 red onion

Instructions: 

Cut eggplants, onions, and zucchini in 1/4-inch thick slices. Salt the eggplant slices, and leave in a colander for 20 minutes so the bitter juices drain out. Rinse and pet dry. Wash the peppers, and leave whole. Wash and trim asparagus. Brush vegetables with marinade and grill or roast.

Vegetable Marinade

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 garlic cloves, smashed

1 Tbs dry oregano

salt & black pepper to taste

Whipped Goat Cheese

1/4 cup goat cheese

2 Tbs whipping cream

salt to taste

Aioli

1 whole egg

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1 tablespoon lemon juice fresh

½ teaspoon salt

1 to 2 garlic cloves small, peeled, roughly chopped

1 cup oil, blend of canola and extra virgin olive oil

Place egg, egg yolk, mustard, lemon juice, salt and garlic in a jar that works with your stick or immersion blender (a 1 pint wide mouth worked well).

Pulse the blender to mix the eggs and combine them with mustard and lemon juice and also to start breaking down the garlic.

Slowly add the oil to allow the emulsification process to take place. Occasionally, lift the blender out of the mixture to allow some air to be mixed in. Continue blending. You should notice that the aioli starts to emulsify and thicken.

Continue blending until thick and emulsified. 

Upcycling a Vintage Wool Jacket

I bought this vintage boiled wool sweater jacket on eBay for $7.50 ($17 total with shipping). It came with some holes and was missing its buttons, but I liked the princess seam shaping in front and back. A quick search on the brand name indicates it was made in Hong Kong, probably in the 1980's. Another indication of how durable wool can be. I bought some vintage buttons on eBay as well.

Sweater listing

When it arrived, I gave it a good soaking in Woolite to clean it, and laid flat to dry. Next, I tackled the holes. Gray is my favorite color, so I had yarn and wool roving in close colors. I untwisted wool yarn so I was working with just one ply, darned the bigger holes, then needle felted over them. Smaller holes I fixed with needle felting. The sleeves were ridiculously long. I cut off 4 inches saving the knit bands, tapered the bottoms of the sleeves, and reattached the bands with a zigzag stitch. After a good steaming, you can't tell they were shortened. I defuzzed the jacket with my sweater shaver. 

I searched for a simplified view of the Minneapolis skyline and cast it onto the TV so I could adjust the image size then trace it. I did the same with another simplified skyline I found online so I had enough skyline detail to go around the bottom of the jacket. 

Casting skyline image to TV

Tracing onto tissue paper

Traced Mpls skyline

I used the traced patterns to cut out the wool felt (purchased on Etsy) then needle felted it onto the bottom of the jacket. 

Cutting the felt

Bugle Snack Mix

 

6 C original bugles

5 C nacho bugles (or another bag of regular bugles based on preference)

4 C Cheese Its crackers

6 oz. colored goldfish crackers 

3 C mini pretzels

2 C Crispix cereal (or corn Chex)

2 C cashews (or substitute more of the other ingredients if there are allergy concerns)

¾ C butter flavored popcorn oil (vegetable oil is a fine substitute)

2 – 1oz. envelopes of Hidden Valley Ranch DRESSING mix (4 Tbsp)

Optional:

1 bag of puffcorn


Combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Combine oil and ranch powder and mix well. Pour over cracker mixture and toss until evenly coated. Divide among 3 – 10X15 baking sheets.

Bake at 250 for 45 minutes stirring every 15 minutes. Cool in pans over racks.

I got this recipe from our neighbor friend Brenda. Recently she told me to add puffcorn to the mix, and she's right that it's a great addition.

Andy likes the regular bugles more than the nacho. Meg likes the nacho bugles but says I can leave out the goldfish, so this is clearly something we'll tailor based on the audience.

Version without nacho Bugles and with puffcorn added