Whew, that was a mouthful... Take a deep breath.. Now breath...
the wonderful thing about quilting is you can be as creative & as kwirky as you want it to be.. just get out a notebook and start sketching.. Sketch out the design and dont forget to add the 1/4 in, it will come to you... As for batting, its your own preference but I hear the poly batting holds up better that cotton if it finds itself in the wash alot...