The very first quilt I hand quilted had Mountain Mist 100% cotton batting (I do not think it was the Blue Ribbon version of this; Blue Ribbon is a higher quality). There was no scrim in that batting, but it was still difficult to hand quilt.
How cotton batting is manufactured can make a big difference in how easy it is to hand quilt. You definitely want to avoid a batting with scrim if hand quilting, as it will make it more difficult to puncture the batting. If you want cotton batting in a low loft, then Quilter's Dream cotton (which is needlepunched, but not through scrim) is relatively easy to needle. If you want a higher loft in cotton batting, then I would go with Hobbs 80/20. One thing I like about cotton batting is that it gets softer with every washing, so that 10 or 20 years down the line the quilt will be very, very, very soft to the touch.
I agree that wool and silk are the easiest to hand quilt.