That's a beautiful quilt. Interesting info on the crocking, I've never heard of that and appreciate the new knowledge.
I am going to take issue w/ the line of thought that indicates that hand-quilting isn't as strong as machine quilting.
But, we do become comfortable in the method that we finish our quilts. Those of us who hand-quilt do it because we love it and probably more importantly, we love the process and peacefulness of completing a quilt.
We have many beautiful quilts that have lasted hundreds of years and they were hand-pieced and hand quilted. I see that quilt top and can see the variety of ways that I would hand-quilt this beauty.
Finishing something faster doesn't make it better.