Quilting from the back works just as well as from the front. Last quilt I did I found out that I had matched the quilting thread so closely to the fabric that it disappeared! I couldn't see where I had quilted, so I ripped out the stuff I had messed up, did SITD to define the areas, and then quilted the FM design from the back. I've also heard suggestions to choose a print for the back and then quilt along the lines of that print, again from the back.
I use pantos on my midarm by either the tracing paper method or by tracing on a transparent water-soluble embroidery stabilizer. You have to use sharpies to mark your pattern as water-based markers won't work on it. That's all to the good, though, since they won't run in the washing machine and stain the fabric.