That's what I use a transparent water soluble topping for (tracing my stitching pattern). It's not Solvy brand but one made by a reputable company and less expensive than Solvy.

I know that it leaves a bit of residue on a dish when I use it and it can be tough to get off.. guess I'm a big chicken but I think I'll stick with my pencils for marking design

Someone mentioned tissue paper earlier. ..what if u used spray baste or a few dots of Elmer's glue here and there with tissue paper? Might work for our friends who don't have press and seal. I may try it too. Anyone try it?

You can buy it here - It is called press n seal. Look for it at coles in the section where the glad wrap is. I have been using it for ages.

I use tissue paper for transferring quilting designs. I just use pins to hold it in place and haven't had any issues with this method. Sometimes the tissue paper wrinkles a bit, but in the end product, it's not noticeable.
I recommend using dark colored paper with "white" lead for the design if quilting on very light fabric with light thread as the graphite color lead will transfer onto the thread and into the fabric. I use white tissue paper and graphite lead for dark thread/fabric. Also, you can iron/press the tissue paper to get the creases out before using. A pair of sharp right angle tweezers works very well for getting the tissue paper out of small spaces after quilting.

Thanks for all the info. If work ever slows down I have 4 tops to get quilted and will try this

I did the tissue paper method for a quilt I entered in a quilt show. I traced the quilting motif onto the Golden Threads tissue paper, then cut out the shapes I needed for the areas of my quilt, and used a couple of pins to hold it in place. Worked like a charm!! I loved it!! It did take a bit of "picking" to get all the paper off, but it was worth it. I will do it again. I haven't tried the Press n Seal, but I do have some still in my drawer.