Thank you all for your kind comments. Actually, I am happy with my first attempt. My stitches aren't very small, however--maybe even as much as a quarter inch in spots--but they are fairly consistent. The back isn't nearly as nice. The stab stitching makes it much more difficult to get the back stitches straight and even. I noticed as I went that if I was very, very careful to have the needle perpendicular to the fabric as I stitched from back to front, I did a better job. It requires patience, however, and that has never been one of my strengths (plenty of patience with others, but very little leftover for myself).
I was a little frustrated that the instructor for my class didn't give any guidance about how many stitches per inch I should be aiming for, even though I asked this question directly. She yammered on about whether you count the stitches or the spaces, or both. I didn't care how they are counted, I just wanted a guide. Can someone answer that question for me?
To ask it more clearly: How many stitches per inch is a goal to shoot for? And when you count the stitches, are you counting the stitches and the spaces? Or just the stitches? I'd like some sort of a gauge for my progress if I decide to try this again.