bdsmith,
I prefer the #11 of the John James brand, they work best for me. I quilt in a hoop on a stand and if necessary I bast some waste fabric strips at the edges so it is easier to put the quilt in the hoop for quilting the border patterns. For basting I use the "old fashioned way" of thread basting and I've never had any problems with it.
I love hand quilting not only because it is relaxing, portable or easy to control - I also do it and do wholecloth quilts because I feel something like a duty in me. I have the talent and the patience for it and I see this as a gift to keep an traditional craft alive in a world where many valuable human skills seem to disappear. The more quilts I can do, the more I feel somehow "born to hand quilt". Maybe that sounds extreme or over-emotional - but that is how I feel.