I don't square grid any of my projects, don't have the patience and knock on wood have been able to keep on count or fudge any counting errors, but I do mark the left and right borders and center when I'm doing a band sampler (once I get into a rhythm with a stitch, I don't have to count - when I hit the red line I stop). I use Sulky metallic sewing thread to do my marking - lots of colors, little risk of color bleed, never yet split it with my needle and it pulls out of the fabric easily when I'm done. Last spool I bought was around $4.00 for a 165 yard (150m) spool but I can't tell you how long ago that was.

Sue in VA
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