I use monofillament (invisible) thread only for wall hangings. I don't like the pokey things either. For the most part, MF is great, especially if you have a multi-colored item and can't decide on one neutral color thread. That is correct to only use it as your top thread.
A Trip Around the World is so easy. It is one that I recommend for beginners. Before I ever read a tutorial about it I made a small wall-hanging and cut each block out with scissors individually, then sewed them together one at a time. That was time consuming. Try Google: Trip Around the World Quilt/free and see if you can find an easy method for strip piecing. (Oh, the hours I wasted prior to that)