Yes, all the flowers are hand quilted around - I eventually figured out a way to quilt more in a straighter line, so it moved a bit quicker. I always baste my quilts before starting to hand-quilt them - it keeps the quilt from shifting and keeps my corners more square. It does take a bit of time, but nothing compared to all the hours quilting.
You mentioned having a long-armer baste the quilt - how easy are those stitches to take out???? I use that Sharon Schamber method of hand basting. It also uses up the skads of embroidery floss from my days of cross-stitching!! I then remove the basting stitches as i quilt an area.