I never use the start/stop button on my Janome 6600. I don't want to take my hands off the quilt until the machine has come to a stop. I love to use continuous line stencils like leaves or flowers (not meandering stipples). I trace the stencil pattern over and over again with my finger, the way that I will quilt it, to "memorize" the pattern. If I am marking the pattern on the quilt with a chalk pencil, then I make sure to follow it again the same way I will quilt it. And if I quilt off the lines a little bit, who cares! It is what makes a quilt special!