I always use special hand quilting thread and my favourite brand is YLI, but from time to time I also use Coats or Gütermann. Hand quilting threads are very strong and coated to prevent knots and tangling.
I can recommend two books about quilt marking: "Mastering Quilt Marking" by Pepper Cory and "Beautifully Quilted" by Alex Anderson. For me they were both very helpful.
I always try to have all the corners of the quilt the same regarding the quilting pattern. Many stencils include a corner solution and I start with the corners when marking. The space between has to be devided through the length of the pattern repeat. As already mentioned, you have to measure a little!
You can also start to mark the corners , work toward the middle or your border and "break it up" there or add another pattern. It is a little easier because you don't have to measure so much.
For both options the quilting is done clockwise or counterclockwise.