There are some information on such sites as
www.quilterstv.com There have been quilt magazine articles written from time to time but don't have any of them at hand now. There is a book "Quilting the Quilt" that discusses this. Look for the book Mastering Quilting Marking. It is listed on amazon and ebay.
Stencils are probably the easiest if you are new to quilting. Companies such as The Stencil Co may be able to help. There are stencils on line that will give you ideas of what kind of designs are available.