It all depends on the project and the design I want to make. I have the pounce set and have used it. The only thing that is hard is the stencils are wider that your stitch is going to be. You have to decide before hand to follow the mark on one side or the other and stick to it. Or, of course use the center of the mark.
I also like and used the tear away quilting papers, marked with a stencil pencil, ironed on stencils, used the built in embroidery /quilting in my machine and done a lot of free motion. The quilting table I have now has a long templet to do an all over design that you follow with a stylus and it is nice, too.
When I begin I think what do I want on here? And go from there. So many choices and ways to quilt.