What a beautiful quilt. I, too, am FMQ challenged so do mostly SID. I have drawn some shapes-stars, hearts, leaves, etc-and just stitch on them with the feed-dogs up. If I go real slow it looks just fine. I like the idea of outlining the hands about a 1/4-1/2 inch away.
I'm not much help but I do like your quilt. Good luck and please show us the finished product.