Now (heat of summer) is a bad time to apply most herbicides. If you have spots where there is nothing but violets, then spray those with Weed-b-Gon Chickweed, Clover, and Oxalis Killer. For the rest, wait until September or until after the summer heat has broken in your area (Middle Tennessee). It will take multiple applications because the weed comes back from seed weeks after you thought you killed it. Then as soon as you see another outbreak, spray it down before it can go to seed. If you still have violets next spring, start spraying in mid April (tax time).

A couple weeks after spraying you can reseed with a northern blend or switch to a southern lawn like bermuda or St Augustine. You're in the lower part of the transition zone...which is transitioning further north as the Earth warms up.

Thanks so much for the insight.

Its too large a project to tackle in one season so I’m willing to go slow but steady to make it happen.

I think I went a cool season turf that will perform well in shaded clay.

You're describing fescue turf for shade.

If you spray out some of the violets, you might have to respray again in 6 months to be sure you got them all.

Read today thst fritillary caterpillars only feed on violets so you must have a lovely lawn when they bloom and butterflies later... sure you’d rather have grass?