I really like hand piecing. If you have the opportunity, see if you can watch a Jinny Beyer presentation on how she hand pieces -- it's really fast! Years ago I borrowed this video from the library, and it really helped my hand piecing (not that I will ever achieve her speed). Love the portability of hand piecing.
Edit: Found this DVD (Oops! Sorry, just looked at it again and it's a CD-ROM that you play on a computer), not exactly the same as the video I watched years ago but still would be good:
http://www.amazon.com/Hand-Piecing-J...inny+beyer+dvd
Definitely check your library for it, or request it through inter-library loan. (Not sure if libraries do CD-ROM's? Haven't been in ages.......)