I, too, hand quilt - so far, exclusively. I do regular hand quilting and have also done 'big stitch' hand quilting. My 'big stitch' isn't so 'big', though, lol. I haven't gotten the hang of adjusting my needle movement larger.
I am interested in ruler quilting on a DSM though. I have a number of tops that I'm not either particularly invested in, or have so many seams (NYB) that hand quilting would be more than a challenge. I usually make all my sibs and the in-laws anniversary quilts; have a few graduation as well as baby quilts under my belt.
My interest in quilting was spurred by a friend who hand pieced and hand quilted. She didn't think she could manage using a machine to piece. She has since mastered that portion. I felt that machine piecing and hand quilting was the perfect (for me) marriage of machine sewing and hand work. It's been a joy for me.
And I do use a thimble - a 'thimblelady' open end thimble that has been the greatest thimble I've ever used.