I used to do nearly all my quilts this way till I started FMQ. I used the "meander" stitch and a walking foot. You can adjust the width and length of the meander somewhat.
And, yes, starting in the middle of the quilt, sew top to bottom, then bottom to top.
I didn't mark the rows, just eyeballing the distance between, approximately 2". Sometimes it varied a bit, no problem.