Confused by CL long boards vs. "Groovy board"

[Hockeyrabbit]

Ok-

As I continue to research all this, I was wondering why the CL long boards are MUCH more expensive than the typical groovy boards? Aren't they just the same thing? I am confused? The GB are much cheaper.

Thanks, JC

[yankiequilter]

I have the Circle Lord boards and have never used the groovy boards, but I took a look at their web site and have these observations:

In comparing the Baptist fan, groovy board is 10 H x 24 L, having one pass of the BF, and the Circle Lord queen set is 88" long with two passes of the BF on the boards. To get a double pass of the BF on the groovy board the length of the Circle Lord BF you would need 8 groovy boards, which would give you 96". There isn't an exact comparison because the web site for the groovy board doesn't indicate the height of the BF, so it is an apples and oranges comparison. In doing the math the price difference is only $39.40.

The groovy crosshatch board is made for both left and right diagonal stitching. The Circle Lord crosshatch templates are made to use one for stitching left and the other for stitching right. I haven't used the large crosshatch templates but I think this would be an advantage because you can get in the groove and stitch away without concern for the intersections where the grooves meet. I think it would make a smoother stitching line. And my Circle Lord crosshatch templates are scheduled for delivery on Monday. YIPPEE!!!

And I looked at the clam shell templates. The groovy has three rows of clams, the Circle Lord has four, but it also had additional design elements that can be used on borders..

Below is a statement that I made on an earlier post about why having boards that span the entire length of the quilt is a benefit.

I use the Circle Lord giant templates a lot and love having the ability to slide them side to side so that the design will start and stop at the appropriate places on the quilt. By having the set of templates I can assure the design will line up with the edge of the quilt at the start of the quilting. When the quilt is advanced having the set of templates also allows me to assure the next pass is going to line up straight and match up with the previous stitching. I don't have to leap frog the templates and the overall quilting is straight and even across the quilt. The quilt doesn't always advance evenly so having templates across the width of the quilt allows me to pinch and scooch a tiny bit when necessary to get things even. I hope that makes sense!

Additionally, having more rows of the design element on the board makes it easier to align the design to assure it is straight. The more rows or depth of the design, the fewer times you have to line things up and the better chance of keeping things straight all the way to the end of the quilt.

There are lots of ideas and opinions about how to use the boards and what works best for the individual, and this is just my opinion and what works for me.

[ffq-lar]

There are several manufacturers of pattern boards and blocks. While CircleLord has great products and lots of fans on the forum, please don't think they are the only players!

Actually, I've never heard of any maker of boards having complaints about workmanship or breakage. All seem reputable and all offer a good product.

www.quilt-ez.com

www.rns-design.com

Patricia Ritter sells her design boards on her site--made by R&S.

Each one of these companies sells their own stylus and bracket, so be sure to check the price of the stylus system for your machine when you are deciding which way to jump. I don't think any stylus is interchangeable with other pattern boards.