Dry Erase Boards

[shawn]

I have read about many practicing new designs on a dry erase board. I am thinking about purchasing a dry erase board for this purpose. What would be the best size to buy? Do you practice with it on your lap or hanging on the wall. I value all of your expertise and have learned so much from this forum. Thanks

[Bonnie]

Actually I do both, but my favorite way is flat on a counter top about the height that my machine is and my pencil is straight up and down (like the needle would be) and I work from there. I have found that it works best for me, but I do play in the car, or chair.

[ramona-quilter]

I have a good size dry erase board, 2 x 3 ft. I use that pretty much the same way Bonnie does.

I have watched the Pajama Quilter (Dawn Ramirez) and she demos the use of the white board to

practice design work.

In the car, dentist office, lunch break, etc, I use the the Magna Doodle to help train my brain for

a particular design. I sometimes get funny looks but that\'s just normal for me. They also make a purse

size 6 x 8 that is easy to carry.

[nineva]

I too use a small white board in the car or plane and a large one at home. The annoying part is if I come up with a cool design then erase it, I can\'t get it back. So, if I am trying out designs for a quilt, I use my vellum overlay that Sherry Rogers Harrison taught me. Otherwise it\'s PPP on the whiteboard!!

Nancy

[TracyeQ]

I\'m with Nancy, if I\'m just trying to get loosened up or practice random things I\'ve seen/learned I use the white board, and pretty much always on my lap or table to imitate the position of my hands when quilting. But, if I\'m seriously practicing a design I\'m want to use or am thinking about using I put it in a doodle pad (kids drawing pad).

There have been a bunch of times I\'ve looked back in there and received a much needed idea boost from something in there.

That\'s the only down side of the whilteboard or Magna Doodle (I have also swiped my kid\'s to practice) is you loose great ideas sometimes.

[barbm]

You don\'t have to lose those great ideas - take a digital photo! And I\'ve also learned to use a clear acrylic panel for practice - you can lay it on top of a design you want to learn, then trace it, erase it, trace it, erase, repeat ad nauseum. Once you\'ve traced it enough, you can lay the panel on top of your quilt square and try it there. To take a photo of the acrylic panel, prop it against something solid color (I use the wall in my studio) and take a photo.

[hollyc]

I have purchased a sheet of clear plexiglass and use with a dry erase marker. I can place it on the top of the quilt while on the Milli and draw/erase until I find a design that works for that quilt. I pull out the plexiglass with the design I like still on it to review as I quilt. This was a helpful hint from a veteran longarmer to me the newbie.

[TinaCollins]

You can buy a piece of 4ft x 4ft "bathroom wall" (I think it is really called masonite board??") from Lowes or wherever for about $10. I bought a 4ft x 8ft. section (cost me $17) for my design wall and added wood trim around the edges after I hung it on my wall. I use 1 1/2 ft. x 2ft pieces for my student\'s "doodle boards" when I give freehand classes, and they work really well. This is a whole lot cheaper than buying a dry erase board and works just the same!!

[Katydids]

Great idea Tina.

Thanks for the info. I am getting ready to add on to my quilting room and will have a spare wall. After the expense I am about to get into, I love the idea of "cheap"

[jmyhogan]

I really like Barb\'s idea of a clear panel. I have used just plastic sheets but I think I want now to get a regular panel like Barb and Holly. Good Idea. I like the possibility of placing it over the quilt to see how a design would look and If I create something I really like I can take a photo of it. Thanks!~

[barbm]

You can get the plexiglass/acrylic sheets at your local Home Depot or Lowe\'s - mine is 18x24 and cost around $6. But be sure to put colored tape (blue painters tape or duct tape) around the edge - you don\'t want your dry-erase pen to go onto your quilt! And test the pens - some of the older ones don\'t wipe off the acrylic like some of the newer ones. For those, you have to use nail polish remover to get the marks off the sheet.

[lharnish]

Great ideas! I have a 24" x 36" dry erase board and place it on the quilt top and leveling bar at the end of my 14\' table. I can practice my designs and it doubles as a place to hold my rulers etc. I have to take it off when I have a really large quilt or if I am not floating my top, but it comes in very handy. I\'m a newbie and I really enjoy the info shared on this chat.

[cmoore1223]

I just wanted to let you guys (ladies) know that you are all AWESOME. Thanks for always sharing your great ideas.

Coleen

[Grammie]

Always some great idea here. Really cool.

I have also used the clear plastic tablecloth you purchase at discount fabric stores like hancocks by the yard. I found a huge roll discounted and it was just a few dollars so I grabbed it. Heavy weight and easy to cut if I quilt something handguided that I really like and want to copy I just lay a cut piece over the freehand design and trace it with a permanent marker right then. It rolls right up after tracing it with fine tip permanent marker. Just another way to quickly keep a design you really like that you quilted just off the top of your head by accident (for me anyway lol). I even make notations about the path so I don\'t have to think about it if it is months before I sit down to digitize it.

Love your idea Tina. I have a large Eraser board in my office but WOW this size would be great in the studio. Thanks for the tip and all the others as well.

Hugs to ya,

Grammie Tammie

[jeri]

Lots of times you can buy clear plexiglass scraps from hardware store (Home Depot has a bin near their glass cutting area) or I get mine fro a local plexglass fabricator who seels their scraps to the public. My straight edge rulers are from them also. The last time I bought 2 about 18" by 24 inch (approx) pieces along with 3 smaller pieces for other uses for about $3.00. jeri

[KathyA]

For the white board I use the Dry Erase markers. For the acrylic panels (with painters tape put around the edges) always use the Wet Erase vis-a-vis Markers. They wipe off with water.

Another suggestion someone had was to use the kids washable crayola markers on the acrylic - but I haven\'t tried those yet.

[jmyhogan]

The ideas just get better and better. Isn\'t this a great place to learn.

[TinaCollins]

I also use kid\'s washable markers in my freehand classes because the fumes are much less annoying than dry erase markers... The kid\'s washable markers will also wash out of the fabric wash cloths I hand out. Plus they are cheaper too!

[TinaCollins]

Maybe I should explain the benefit of having a big doodle board hung on the wall in addition to the plexiglass on top of a quilt...

When we draw on paper with a pen, we are using fine motor muscle movement. The design path is learned in our head. If we draw large scale (the same size as we would quilt it) without letting your arm rest on a surface, we are now using gross motor control. By drawing on a larger board and not supporting your forearm/elbow/shoulder- then you are also gaining "muscle" memory in addition to the "mental" path memory. Make sense??

[nineva]

OMGosh, you guys ROCK. I never would have thought of these ideas. I sure hope I get to meet some of you at MQS (like Tina and others). Jimmy and Bev are the coolest people. Barb is my neighbor. Grammie Tammie is an inspiration and I am guessing Jeri will be there since she lives in KC. Cannot wait. 31 hours and counting.....

:P:P:P:P NAncy

[RitaR]

I think its mrmqltr that uses her patio doors or a plate glass window with dry erase.. lots of room and wipes right off.

RitaR

[jmyhogan]

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<a href="http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2374877950100189059OxGtrZ"><img src="http://thumb19.webshots.net/t/52/652/8/77/95/2374877950100189059OxGtrZ_th.jpg" alt="F063_c enl"></a>

[judysmith]

I never thought about gaining \'muscle memory\' as well as the \'mental\' memory for a pattern. Thanks for that tip Tina. I\'ll go and practice!

Judy

[Lisa]

HI All. What a great discussion! I also use the Crayola washable markers to mark quilt tops, Golden Threads paper or doctor\'s office table paper. I\'ve never NOT had it come out. Of course I have the clients sign on their contracts that they accept the results and allow me to use the markers on their quilts.

There are very few quilt books I suggest during my APQS Beginner class. In my humble opinion, the most important book on the market, is *A FINE LINE, by Melody Crust and Heather Waldron Tewell.* A Fine Line was published in 2002 by The Quilt Digest Press. It teaches you the technique of auditioning many different designs on a quilt before the final quilting is decided. I was given a 3\' x 2\' section of over head projector plastic with the edges bordered with masking tape. (just wrap it around the back.) It is MOST helpful to have the edges of the plastic taped. Then I don\'t go off the edge of the plastic and write on the quilt.

Clients are visual and enjoy seeing what a quilting pattern would look like before it\'s quilted. You could also go back over the designs and learn muscle memory motion.

Off to quilt....

Lisa L. Langlais

AUTHORIZED APQS Rep.

6936 Conservation Drive

Springfield, VA 22153-1013 (WASHINGTON DC AREA)

703-440-8157

CELL: 703-967-2675

REVEL IN EACH OTHERS SUCCESS KNOWING FULL WELL THERE IS ENOUGH TO GO AROUND. ~~~ANONYMOUS

[Georgene]

If you want to practice a pattern for a 9-patch, for instance, you can use the Vis-a-Vis markers on the white board to draw a 9-patch, and let that dry good.

THEN, use the dry erase markers to practice your design. The Vis-a-vis won\'t go away until you use water. So you can practice, practice, practice your design, erasing it each time you start over, but the 9-patch drawn with the Vis-a-Vis markers remains.

I know it works, I tried it last week.