You can certainly mark & quilt from the back if you like, however my hand stitches don't look as nice on the back as they do on the top. Everyone finds different tools they prefer for marking, and just a word of caution - in the past I have used a yellow chalk-o-liner and had great success, however on the puppy quilt the yellow did not come out when the quilt was washed. I'm hoping that as time goes along it will fade, but do a test before marking your whole quilt. And good luck & love to see your finished quilt. Also WELCOME to the forum.