@Tamnymore @HenriettaMaria

As in the probably apocryphal 'How do you spell your surname?' 'Pa'erson. With two ts.'

I did wonder about regular kiddies felt tips. The ones that are meant to not ruin their clothing.

I use the Berol handwriting pens - the ones marked washable- for marking quilting lines, and to date have had no problem with them washing out. The down side is they only come in blue and black. I don't put a hot iron on the marks in case that sets the colour.

Colwall Village Hall, Mill Lane, Colwall WR13 6EQ

10.00-16.00
Admission £3
Car park. Disabled access.

Raffle in aid of 'Let's Make a Change' (local Worcs charity)
Refreshments inc light lunches, trader, tombola, sales table.

Saltash Wesley Church, Callington Road, Saltash PL12 6LA
10.00-16.00
Admision £2, under-16s free
brunel_quilters@yahoo.com

raffle, sales table, refreshments

@Iminei So why aren't you using them? Is it just because your'e sick of the sight of them?

Leaving aside all this chat about oiling sewing machines (or not) @Mrs_Robinson there is a pdf manual for the Jones Z690 on this site

https://www.sewingonline.co.uk/jones-manuals-2.html

scroll down until you find it. (Was this the one you tried before?)

There is also a pdf manual listed here https://sewingwishlist.com/jones-manuals-2.html, though the site looks remarkably like the previous one.

What’s amazing me is that after making 26 6.5” blocks and having strips cut for at least another 10 blocks, the scrap box doesn’t look any emptier.

@Ellabella Tell me about it! 

@SewRuthieSews I would look at getting a 9½ square ruler. That's big enough to cut or trim many sizes of blocks, but not so big as to be awkward in a limited space. Also it will give you a long enough edge to cut wider strips. EG if you needed an 8½ wide strip, you would use the square to measure 2½" in then place the long ruler against that edge, taking care not to nudge it over, and you can cut a long strip, iyswim. As @Stichin Time says, if you staying in the darkside, buy the same make of rulers, and add to them as needed.
At risk of hearing eggs being sucked  , if you're cutting folded fabric try to get it as straight as possible first  or you may end up with V-shaped strips.