I know that it can be intimidating the first time you start to quilt your very first quilt, but just jump right in and do it, you'll be fine. Once you start you may wonder why you hesitated so long. Good luck, I'm sure you'll do fine.

We all have to start with that first quilt and I am sure most of us felt just like you do. I think you will do well and be very proud of it when it is done. You have chosen a easy one to start with. Just go slow and have fun.

Go for it!!! You are gonna have fun

You could try a variegated thread and that would solve the quilting colour problem. I've been quilting over 30 years and haven't quilted one of my own yet, except for QAYGs and my hand made quilts! Good luck.

I think you have the right idea to leave it over night and then have a look at your thread. Made me smile because for a recent quilt I found a very light pink Aurifil thread that I thought was perfect, then on my test block I thought, oh, no, not quite right. So back to the store and I bought a different brand of thread that I thought was more subtle, just right! When I got home discovered that the two threads were exactly the same color. It was just me, doubting myself. I ended up using the Aurifil as it is my preferred thread anyway. And I love how it turned out. Some of this is just over thinking! Do just go for it, you will be happy in the end! Good luck!

Go for it! My quilting still has a long way to go but when I look at it hanging from 6' away it looks OK! Each one gets better too.

Go for it! I look at each project as a snapshot of what I'm capable of at the time. You will learn something from every quilt, and eventually, you won't get nervous when it's time to start quilting. (I still get a little nervous when I start cutting the fabric for a new quilt... especially if it's quilt shop fabric at $10+ per yard.)
Enjoy the process, learn from mistakes, and don't require perfection of yourself.

If you are that apprehensive about starting, why not try sandwiching two FQs and practicing on those before you start on the quilt? Then you could cut them up for pot holders. I took a class from Harriett Hargrave and her advice was to always start on a practice piece and quilt for about 20 minutes to warm up your muscles before you begin your actual quilting.

Just get started. My first FMQ was really bad, it is the quilt we use the most.
It will get better, you just need to get started. I love doing FMQ and mostly do that on my quilts.

Well, when I got up in the morning, I realised I was happy with the colour I chosen to quilt - so very glad I hadn't ripped the stitching out in a panic! It was a little harder to quilt than I had anticipated - hadn't realised quite how heavy it would feel - and I have a standard machine, no bigger throat to give more space! But, all in all, I am more than happy with how it went (And while there are plenty of places for improvement, I did it! :)). Still waiting for the binding to arrive so I can finish it off, but here it is so far (the bright patches are sunlight - tried to get a better picture, but...):
[ATTACH=CONFIG]521829[/ATTACH]Thank you all again so much for being so encouraging!!!