Newbie question
 

I'm going to make a baby quilt with flannel on the top and fleece for the backing/batting.
My question - if I want to do right sides together and turn it inside out - would it be beneficial to stitch down the seam allowances on the front? It would look quilted from the front and then the fleece wouldn't need to be quilted. Hope that makes sense.

You could do that, but it's alot of work if there are many pieces in the quilt top. But you can machine quilt through fleece, if that's a concern. I wouldn't want to try and hand quilt through fleece.

Planning to make a windmill quilt - 3 across and 4 down. I'm strictly a machine type of gal - don't like to hand sew (at least not yet - lol)

I'm not sure if I'm understanding this correctly, but if you plan to "birth" the quilt you will still need some quilting through the back to keep it from shifting away from the rest of the quilt.

But if I stitch down the seam allowances on the quilt front - why would I need to worry about the back shifting? Not trying to sound like a know-it-all - I really don't know.
Also, I'm planning to do a row of stitching all around the quilt edges after I "birth" it.

The back will flop out from the centre of the front. I'd at least sew the middle rectangle (made up of the two centre squares). Should be relatively easy. Just turn the quilt as you plan and then pin the centre down and stitch.

Thank you SuzzyQ

That's going to be a very soft blanket!

Yes, it will be loose, kind of like the fleece blankets people make by tying two fleece layers together all around the four sides.

First Welcome to the QB from SE Michigan. Birthing a quilt as you have described may not be the best way to go if I am understanding you right. You would still have to quilt through the front to the back. You may be better to glue baste and then quilt your pieces together and do a binding. There is a lot available on glue basting. I for one love it. Be sure to use only Elmer's washable school glue. My preference is the clear washable glue. I could make this much easier for you.