I have done a stencil - didn't really care for it. Just hard for me to follow, for some reason, and I worried that the fabric pencil I used wouldn't wash out, even though I had pretested.
I sometimes use tissue paper to trace a design on, and then quilt through it and tear it off. But it is not my favorite method because there are little bits of tissue paper caught in the stitching, and you have to get the tweezers out.
I have also traced simple designs onto freezer paper, ironed that onto the quilt top and stitched around it - worked well but the design has to be very simple.
I use masking tape to mark straight lines. That is a favorite method of mine - just stitch along the edge of the tape, and reposition it when needed.