I used Warm & Natural on my first quilts & that worked nicely. I now use Warm & Plush to get a more defined stitch & 50% loftier.
100% cotton thread for sure for a beginner. I love Aurifil thread, but I didn't know about quilting threads when I first started quilting and worked with Guterman (which is the brand I use to sew home dec & clothing, but it's not as nice for quilting). You definitely want to use a 50wt or 60wt thread so your mistakes aren't very evident & pick a thread color that either matches the dominant color of your quilt top, or pick a thread that is a couple shades greyer/duller than your quilt top fabric.
I definitely recommend Machinagers gloves, but for your first quilt you might save the money & make sure you really love FMQ and you can just cut the tips off grip-y kitchen gloves (new, clean) and use those.
I agree about marking your design. I use Crayola Ultra Clean markers or Ultra Clean crayons. They wash out of cotton easily & come in plenty of bright colors to make it easy to see on your quilt top. Pick a simple pattern to start like a stipple and definitely practice for a little bit on a sandwich before starting on your quilt to make sure you have the tension adjusted right & to practice moving your hands at the same speed as the machine ... reduce the speed as much as possible on your machine to make it easier to keep up and get uniform stitches.
Yes, start in the middle. You want to quilt in quadrants. Once you finish one quadrant, go back to the middle & start on the next quadrant. You'll want to baste your quilt in the same manner if you are pin basting (that's the only kind of basting I know how to do). I really recommend investing in the curved safety pins if you are going to pin baste your quilt. They are so much easier to use & distort your quilt less.
Good luck & have fun! And post pics when you're done.
