Just to answer your question about the monofilament thread: As long as you use a good quality thread it will hold up well. I quilted my first quilt with this stuff in 1990 and it has been washed to death. The binding is wearing thin but the quilting thread is holding strong. One of my current projects uses monofilament in the top and a coordinating color in the bobbin. This quilt is multicolored and I didn't want the quilt lines to show. (Let's just say that my FMQ is not worth looking at closely quite yet.

My vote would have been for the variegated red, white and blue.

Ok it is done, thank goodness, the ivory worked out well and of course my DD said to me Mummy couldnt you use the white on the white and red on the red, NO she doesnt sew let alone quilt. This was one of the most simplest quilts I have made but also one of the trickiest since my sewing room was dismantle last November due to DD, not the same one, moving in. My work space to get this done was approx 3 feet. LOL DH is going to finish remodeling the sewing room for DD moved out and now it is mine again! He is even putting in built in cabinets and counters on the long wall, I cant wait! thank you once again for all the imput

forgot the pic

Thank you Mad for this info for I wanted to go with it but I was scared it might not hold up, I have Guttermans mono and I should have just went with it, but luckily I am not unhappy with this the way it is and I am sure he will be thrilled... California here it comes.

Looks great to me and DONE is always the best feeling! Thanks for sharing the picture. I bet he can hardly wait to get it!

The thread worked out to be perfect. It looks really nice. Thanks for sharing.

I would quilt in the ditch down each strip then do a diamond pattern the size of each strip down the strip in the color of the background. Then an X with radiating lines outside the x for the blue/star.
Then you don't have t worry about white over red, red over white etc etc etc. The diamond border like design down each strip witll continue the horitzonal shape of those areas. The x's in the blue star will confine that area and continue the overall look of an original flag.

I did stitch in the ditch down each stripe for i didnt want the red to flip on me when quilting and the seam to show through. The rest would have taken too long due to a pulled chest muscle and I really wanted to get this to him Holice but it sure would have looked nice that way..