Hand Quilting

I took a hand quilting class at Quilt Fest from Megan Legas.  She does beautiful work.  I had taken a quilting design class from her a couple of years ago so I know she is a great teacher.
It seems funny that I took a hand quilting class when I just bought a machine quilting machine, but for some reason I keep getting drawn to hand quilting!  I think it's beautiful and actually very relaxing - well sort of relaxing....

This is at least the 3rd or 4th hand quilting class I've taken and they all start out the same, how to mark, how to baste, then you put a muslin square in a hoop and practice.  Everyone has different little tidbits though that I find helpful, so even though a lot of the class is a bit repetitive, I always learn something new.

Here is my attempt this time.

I learned a fabulous tip from Megan that immediately made my stitches smaller!  Look at this heart - the stitches on the right side of the heart are where I started.  After I learned her tip, look at the stitches on the left side - they are noticeably smaller!  Hurray!

Now I need to practice, practice, practice.  I have a smallish quilt in mind that I think I am going to hand quilt.  I need to graduate from a muslin square to an actual quilt and just go for it.  Wish me luck!