Playdough -- Time for Fun!

2 cups flour
2 cups warm water
1 cup salt
2 Tablespoons oil
1 Tablespoon cream of tartar

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan.  Over medium heat, cook the playdough until it reaches the consistency of mashed potatoes.  If playdough is sticky, it needs to be cooked longer.  Once the dough is thick enough, allow the dough to cool to the point that it can be handled.  Add food coloring to the dough as desired.  Store in an airtight container.

Polyester-Square Rugs

A yard of six-foot wide canvas will furnish enough canvas for three rugs.  Twill is less expensive.  The canvas must be pre-shrunk.  The best way to pre-shrink the canvas is to place it in a large pan of water, and heat to boiling.  Cool and let drip dry, then finish drying in the dryer.  Iron wrinkles out.  Divide the canvas into three pieces--one for each rug.  Try to square the corners and make the ends and sides equal.  Cut the canvas rather than tearing it.  Zig-zag stitch around a piece of canvas to prevent fraying.  Turn under a one-inch hem and sew the hem in place.  Do not fold under cut edge of canvas--the hem will be too thick.  The zig-zagged edge should be on the top of the rug--this will put the raw edge underneath the colored squares of fabric where it will not show and the back of the rug will be smooth.

The canvas must then be marked with a dark pencil.  A yardstick is a must, a carpenter's square is useful.  Begin by finding the center of the rug and mark according to this diagram.

Line A is on the center of the Rug.  Point B is located an equal distance from each edge of the canvas.  Line C is drawn from Point B to the corner of the canvas.  Be careful to get it even and exact.  Some adjustment may be necessary.  You are now ready to mark your sewing guide lines.  Place your yardstick across your canvas from Point D to Point F.  Be sure that the center line A is on an inch mark.  Now mark each 1/2 inch across the canvas.  Do this twice at each end of line A for guide lines.  Now draw from mark to mark making a line every 1/2 inch across the canvas.  Now draw lines from one Line C to the adjoining Line C where the above lines intersect.  If your lines are true, these should be 1/2 inch apart and even.

Cut polyester knit material into 2-inch squares.  Pinking shears are preferred for the effect which they give; however, the knit does not fray even if regular scissors are used.  Do not discard the imperfect pieces because they can sometimes be used at the ends of rows when a full 2 inch square is too large to finish the row.  Cardboard patterns may be used to assist marking.  To help you know how many squares you will need, the following information is included:  you can get about 270 squares out of 1/2 yard of polyester knit. 

Use polyester thread for sewing.  Select a color that matches the polyester.  The only place where the thread will show is along the outside edge.  It is preferred to use white polyester thread in the bobbin because the white will not show against the canvas on the bottom of the rug.

To begin sewing:  fold a square of polyester in half to form a triangle.  Place the triangle on the center line at either Point B.  Back-stitch and sew a few stitches to fasten it in place. 

Fold another square into a triangle and lay just over hte point of the first triangle.  Sew until the second triangle is fastened in place with a few stitches, and then fold another triangle and place over the point of the second.  Continue in this manner until the center line is covered.

Proceed to the end of center-line A.  Be sure not to cover the end of the lines with triangles of fabric.  Cut off the end of the fabric (or use imperfect pieces) and leave the needle free to set into the canvas at corners and turn unobstructed by fabric.  When turning corners and going on to the next line, set the needle into the canvas at the corners and lift pressure foot and turn canvas.  Then place the center of the center-fold of the triangle right up against the needle, drop the pressure foot and sew a few stitches.  When sewing triangles on line A, just cover the tip of the previous triangle.  On all other rows, lift the tips of the triangles sewn the previous row and arrange each triangle so that when it is standing up the tips will alternate with the tips of those sewn on the previous row.  This gives the full effect and ensures covering the canvas completely.