I would highly recommend the rag quilt scissors. The snipping of the seams really gets your hands.
If you do as someone suggests and make the batting 1 inch smaller it will give the warmth without the extra layer in the seam. That helps quite a bit.
The quilting of the square will depend upon the batting you use. I used "warm & Natural" and did 7 different designs, one for each colour of flannel I used. Came out great!
When you dry the quilt for the first time, clean out the lint trap about every 5 minutes. It collects quickly