Welcome to the group, JuneBea!
When I took a class on handquilting, I was taught to baste everything securely down, then start in the middle with my frame. Once the middle is quilted work out from the center to each of the four corners - one at a time. Once that is done fill in the four corners.
What size quilt are you hand quilting? If you are doing twin size or larger and have it on a big frame, the process would be from the middle to each side, then work your way through that section completely before moving the frame to do another area.