First off I must say I am loving your project! I love the fabric you have selected for this quilt. It's going to be so crisp and beautiful.
I have to absolutely agree with your assessment of open seams. I am just finishing up a quilt that had seams pressed open. Many near cases of burnt fingers ensued. I did get quite adept at pressing seams open but did not enjoy it. (I started finger pressing the seams first and then pressed with the iron. BIG help!) I also found there was a lot more pinning needed at the intersections. I was lucky that the pattern I was using didn't have very much matching going on.
Continue on and watch out for your fingers with that iron! I am anxious to see a whole big section of your quilt top now.