What sort of markings?

If you have any "water-erasable or air-erasable" markings still present, spray them with water. Let dry, and then spray again if the marks are not removed. Do not use any soap or detergent until those marks are completely removed.

Beyond that, I would wash, gentle cycle, slow spin, cold water. A front-loader is actually better, as the tumbling is gentler than the agitation of top loaders.

Don't you have to use an HE detergent in your front load washer? I do. I just washed a queen size in my after spraying my markings and used Tide HE and had no problems. I did put a could color grabber sheets in for safe measure.
Good luck!
Sue/polardream

I used a water soluble marker on the border for quilting. I'll spritz/wet them before putting in the washer & be sure they've disappeared.

I'm especially wondering about the detergent.... Orvus? vs Woolite vs a mild detergent such as Dreft? or other recommendations?
Or do quilters only use these sorts of products only for their antique, fragile, or "prize winning" quilts? (Otherwise, I do use HE detergent for regular laundry.)

I use Orvus for everything and it works well. But is it used in a front loader? Don't know.

I use Woolite myself.

Be sure you dry it completely right away. I washed my well basted applecore to get out the starch before hand quilting. I left it slightly damp as I was planning to iron it back out smooth again. Even though I prewashed every single fabric, using Retayne and Synthrapol on many but apparently not all, I had two black patches that bled to the back along the damp inside basting threads. There was no dye transfer across the top to the next white patch because the outside fabric got dry enough, just to the cream backing along damp threads through damp batting. It left black dots on my backing--totally unacceptable. I had to undo part of the basting, enough to stuff in a folded towel and BLEACH those dots with a Q-tip. (Believe me, I tried everything before I got close to this applecore with bleach.)

I take mine up the street to my sons house and my dil washes mine in her front loader,and dries it as well.Her machines are bigger than my old top loaders.
Kathi

One of the fabrics in the Jewel Box quilt I had made for my daughter, started to fray and disintegrate. My LAQ told me that the dryer was very hard on a quilt so I try to wash my quilts in the good weather so I can line dry it. Has anyone had this problem? or was it just a poor fabric.

If just one fabric out of the whole quilt is falling apart, I'd blame that fabric.

I never put quilts in a dryer, sorry. I always lay them out flat or over a rack to dry. Oh for the days of clotheslines. We don't have one now and I miss it.

I wash mine in a top-loader and use Woolite. Sometimes I drape them over the backs of a couple of garden chairs (running the risk, however, of the sun bleaching out colors), and other times I do use the dryer, but I don't think all that extra thumping can do them any good.