Janet,
for dark fabrics I use a colored pencil as well, but it must be water soluble. Watercolor pencils are available in almost every color and I always try to find one a few shades lighter than the fabric or the quilting thread.
For light fabrics I use a method called needle marking. With a darning needle or blunt needle you trace around your template or follow the slots in a stencil. This only works when the top, batting and back is already assembled. The needle leaves a crease mark on the fabric. Needle marking is only usable when you mark "as you go" because the markings do not last too long. But sometimes they stay longer than chalk lines and you don't have to remove the markings after the quilting is finished!