You might look and find Chambray it looks like denim but is much lighter weight, then pair it with the flannel for the front pieced blocks. My sister used to use a good polar fleece then for the backing (no batting) and tied her quilts that then could with stand frequent washing and dried very quickly due to the fleece on the back. These quilts are very warm and not overly heavy then. This would be a way to provide him with the things he wants but in a way he can enjoy them. Both my parents as they got older were cold but could not tolerate heavy blankets on them. I found wool batting to be a good one to use in my quilts as it was light weight and nice and warm.