Hand Quilting in Progress

I've begun hand quilting my 'Happy Birth Day' quilt and am enjoying the process so far. I have never hand quilted before and found tutorials from Anna Maria Horner and Rachel very useful to figure out what supplies I needed and how to get started. I also got some tips from Stephanie this past Sunday at the OCMQG sew. Once I got started I then needed to figure out my own way of doing things. What kind of thimble do I like and on which fingers? Do I want to use a hoop when quilting?

Below is a comparison of trying to quilt without a hoop (left) and with my quilt in a hoop (right). I found it easier to make smaller and somewhat more uniform stitches without the hoop because I could manipulate the fabric a bit more easily. We'll see whether my stitches look any prettier by the time I'm done with this quilt.

I also just joined in my first Quilt Along! A couple of months ago I bought Denyse Schmidt's Proverbial Quilt pattern with the intention of making a quilt for my daughter. I got as far as buying the fabric and cutting out the letter templates, but this WIP didn't make it too far. When I saw that Krista was hosting a quilt along for this pattern, I thought that would be the perfect motivation for me to finish this. If you're interested in creating your own proverbial quilt, there is still time to join in on the fun!