I almost always quilt from the back. I use golden threads paper with a needle punched edge to edge design as a stencil and pounce it onto the quilt. It is easier to find a chalk color that shows on a backing then on the front where I am more likely to have a mix of lights and darks.
For some threads like Superior Rainbows I get much better results this way because they are in the bobbin instead of the top and break less easily.