I took a hand quilting class from a woman who has been quilting since she was a child. She explained a couple of the new ways of marking, such as the Frixion and other pens, but you could tell her heart wasn't in it. Finally she said she uses a No. 2 pencil for light fabrics and tailor's chalk for dark fabrics. I have been using the No. 2 pencil for light fabrics, and it works beautifully. It never causes a problem with being retained by the fabric, and it even starts disappearing as you're quilting. I have a Sewline marker, and I use that in white for dark fabrics since I'm not going to go out and buy any chalk until all my white is gone. Keep it simple is the correct way of marking fabric for me.