I am hand quilting a star on the light coloured blocks of my lap quilt. I can't seem to get past 3 stitches to an inch and still pick up the material on the back. I know, that sounds pretty bad. Hexagon did you mean you are getting 15 stitches in an inch? How can you see it; they must be SO tiny! I am so impressed.
I have machine pieced the top; here. I will include the pic.
I have only been quilting since last July, so I am doing a lot of 'stab and stitching' like you described mpspeedy. The star is continuous (until I go to the next block) so that is relatively simple.
Thanks so much all. I am thinking I will stick to a similar colour thread to background. I don't want to be too disappointed with the result. If it is not TOO bad I will put on a 'completed' pic! :)