LOL...love the 'computer plugged in' comment. You are so right. <grin>
I love using the press 'n seal method:
1) I sandwich my quilt and secure it with stitch-in-the ditch down the quilt and again across the quilt. How many time is up to you. I did one that I did that stitch on every block down & across. This secures my quilt from shifting and I can take out any pins...etc..(I actually use basting spray instead of pins)
2) Using a fine-point sharpee, I trace my paper pattern onto one of those plastic holders that are designed to hold report papers in. (They are very cheep and about 50-100 of them in a package.) This creates a re-usable pattern.
a. if the pattern is within the dimensions of 8 1/2x11, I just slip the paper pattern into the sleeve. That way I don't have to trace...just stick the press n seal and begin tracing directly onto it.
b. if the pattern is bigger than the plastic...I cut off the sides and slice open the bottom. This makes a very long piece. If it needs to be wider or longer, I cut another one to size and tape it to the 1st one making a bigger plastic piece.
3) Then I place a piece of Press n seal over the plastic and retrace onto it as many times as I need to.
4) I trace a few...stick them in place on my quilt..then quilt it following the lines. Then I go back and trace a few more and stick n sew again.
I never cut off the holes that would hold the plastic in a binder..because when I'm through with it, I just fold it back up...put a little piece of tape to keep it shut and place it in a 3 ring binder that I've labeled "stencils". That way I don't have to keep re-inventing the wheel. LOL
This press n seal doesn't hurt my quilts and works for me. Neither does the spray basting. My needle will collect a little gunk sometimes as I sew, but I just take it off or ignore it, depends on what mood I'm in.
I know that many mark the quilt first...but with this method, I don't have to. AND I can tell right away whether I like the quilt pattern....because I press it in place and it resembles the quilting...so I know whether I'll like it. I've changed my stencil a few times because I decided my stencil of choice didn't look good.
Hope this helps.