For straight stitching I don't worry about it being continuous but rather concentrate on the design that I want. To secure the ends I leave the top and bobbin thread long when I start and cut then pull the top thread to the back, tie the two threads together and bury them in the quilt bat by threading them into a big eye needle and running it under the back layer.
With a small quilt you don't have to worry as much about how many times you have to turn your quilt when quilting which means wrestling it through the harp area of your machine. Larger quilts this is a consideration.
From looking at your diagram it doesn't appear that you have enough quilting to hold any kind of batting but as others have mentioned before read your batting instructions to see what distance you need to quilt at because your batting will shift when the quilt is washed.
I don't know how you have basted your quilt but in the future if you use safety pins you will want to keep your quilting pattern in mind when you are placing your pins so you don't have to stop and remove them along the way. I have pinned, thread basted and glue basted and by far glue basting is my favorite way to go. There are a lot of threads on here about school/washable glue basting.
I always use a walking foot for straight machine quilting. It really helps with the shifting. If your machine didn't come with one then there are after market ones that will work for around $25.00. Well worth having one.
If you are able to post a picture of your quilt then I'm sure you will get lots of advice on how to quilt it.
Last edited by citruscountyquilter; 07-28-2014 at 10:54 AM.