Making Marks for Determining a Quilting Design

When I want to quilt a pattern on a quilt quickly I go with a simple design like a straight line or a meander and I don't do too much prep work.  Just the basics.  Sometimes not much at all, if you know what I mean!

I am Queen of the Throw the Quilt On the Frame and Get It Done In An Hour Club.  Of course that is why I have 28 million quilts waiting to be quilted.  Right?

But sometimes I have the desire to do a really nice quilt that begs for more thoughtful quilting.  One that combines what I learned when I took that class at QuiltCon with Krista Withers with the books from Angela Walters and Natalia Bonner and listening and watching my friend Patty the Quilt Lady work.  It is a unique learning set that had a bit of this and a little of that mixed with some of this other thing.

Here is one of the ways I decide what pattern to quilt in the blocks of my quilts.  I thought I might show you one of the tools I use.

I got this piece of plexiglass from Lowes.  I asked them to cut it to the size I wanted, which was 16 x 24 inches.  I wanted it to fit inside the arm of my longarm bed so I could make marks on the area I was getting ready to quilt.  Auditioning the quilting.  but I think I might get a few more smaller ones like a 12 x 12 and a 8 x 8 maybe.

The first thing I did, well, I did it as an after the fact thought, was to tape the edges in blue tape so I could see them.  I say after the fact because I ran off the edge (a few times before I wizened up enough to put the tape on the edges).

You will need some markers.  Wet erase, not dry erase.  A spray bottle of water. Some  paper towels.  A quilt.

I test draw a few things, if you don't like it, just wipe it off!  If you do like it, take a picture of it!  no stress at all!

These wet erase markers are NOT to be used on your quilt!  Only on your plexiglass!

I did some swirls here, might be nice.  I would use white thread in the white areas, so it would blend in so much better.  And there are no white markers, so we have to just imagine.  But we quilters are very good at that, aren't we?


 Here are some leaves for the background.  This bird is in the trees.  Maybe some branches would be good in here too!  You can get creative with the markers because you can draw and erase here.   Whatever you can think of,  PLAY.

You can't do that with your sewing line!  Well, you can.  It is called RIPPING!

 Here is a billowy cloud background.  And a different wing treatment.  His body is one of my favorite motifs, circles. 





and I think the HSTs might need to be hand quilted with large stitches.  And that might not make the deadline to be competed by Tennessee.  But we will see how far we get.

OK.

So get you to the store and get a plexiglass.