Hi Ruth Camp
You can quilt from both sides. Usually it is done from the front because of the pattern of the pieced top. You do it from the back when you do not want to mark the quilting lines or want an overall pattern, for example, if you have a big floral patterned fabric as your back, you just “trace” the design of the fabric with the needle. If you want to embellish the quilt top using a decorative thread, they usually are too thick to use in the needle; instead you use it in the bobbin (I recommend having another bobbin for this, because you have to change the tension). If you want to know more on these subjects, I recommend the book “Machine Quilting with Decorative Threads” by Maurine Noble and Elizabeth Hendricks and “Quilting Back to Front: Fun & Easy No-Mark Techniques” but I do not know the name of the author or how good it is.
There is also “Lucia’s rule”: Do it the way you like the most and have fun doing it! If it works for you it is fine! 8) :roll:
Lucia