I have now finished 3 tops, for a new quilter I'm having a ball but now I need to put the back on. All the books apply to the fancy fronts, I want the back to do justice to my hard work on the other side. Do you cut blocks? strips? I have my batting but not sure what size to cut it and the material for the back.
Any books or web links would be helpful. thanks. Carole

are you machine quilting your sandwich, sending it out to a long-arm(er), hand quilting, tying? it all makes a difference. your backing (for machine quilting) should be 4-5" larger all the way around than the quilt top (ie: if your top is 72" x 90" your backing and batting should be at least 82"x 100", then after the quilting is done it is trimmed when you square up your quilt before attaching the binding. your backing can be all one piece (wide quilt backs) or, pieced (keep in mind if hand quilting, extra seams to have to stitch through if you piece your back)
lots of quilt shops offer beautiful wide goods 108" wide fabrics ... 3 yds of this = 108" which will give you plenty for a queen size quilt. all this aside, they are your quilts...use what you like, keep in mind the final product...is it a utilitarian quilt (used and washed lots)?then purchase fabric which will hold up well, is it a wall hanging that probably won't get washed? use what ever you like...
good luck, it's great that you have completed 3 tops, now, time to finish them up :)

What to do for a quilt back is up to you :D:D:D
Some use a solid piece of fabric, some piece them, some put leftover blocks in them... I would just keep in mind the quilting on the front, will also be the back sides quilting. Also in some spots you could have a seam in the front and back meeting and that is a lot of thickness with the batting, too.

Here are some pictures of different backs, maybe give you some inspiration :D:D:D

http://images.google.com/images?sour...ed=0CBMQsAQwAA