Ditto on Loretta's comments. I would go with the gold too.
Nice piece. Would like to see a finished photo. :-D :thumbup:

I'd go with a gold as well.

You could match the blue, the red, or the gold. The blue would be more blendy. Red and gold would make the center stand out. Your preference.

Either the gold or the red. I think red would give it a more Americana feel.

I think the gold would look great.

Thanks everyone. I believe I will try to match or get close enough to the gold.

I would go with red. I think that would frame it just right, just my opinion LOL

I might try the red. Or if you go with the gold maybe you could find like a tone on tone in the red or gold.

I like this idea. I also thought Pineapple Princess' idea of the Americana look was a good thought.

I started the hand quilting (which I don't do) last night and I can see this will be a LONNNNNNG process for me. The needle just doesn't want to go where I think it should. I know - practice, practice, practice. I have no patience. Next problem arose when I actually started the work and that is knowing where I should quilt. The previous person didn't exactly stitch in the ditch and didn't stitch a quarter inch from the seam. (The threaded needle from the previous quilter was still in the piece and needless to say, it was rusted.) I have no quilting training and this is a real challenge. Actually, the reasons I decided to tackle the task, besides it seemed it shouldn't be abandoned after so much work had been done on it, was to learn and practice.

Gold seems the rule of the majority but I wd go w/ a navy blue solid to act as a frame to encompass it all. BTW, you'll do fine on the HQ, just do a few stitches at a time (like Georgia Bonesteel does). Post pics when you're finished; we'd love to see it! :D :D