My first hand project was sewing squares together. It was extremely basic and all my corners nested. :-) I was told to use a 1/4 inch ruler - it's like a 4x4 but only 1/4 inch and is about 6 inches long - with a pencil to mark the 1/4 in. to sew along. It was easier to follow and only had to mark one side as I sewed. Then I did GFG - they are the 2 in size and I did not paper piece, just drew the line on them. (One time I decided to use one of the disappearing fabric pens - thinking it was the water soluble and it was the one that disappeared 20 minutes after it was applied. Oops!) Then I discovered EPP and love it. My problem is so many other projects pop up and get finished ahead of the other.
Oh, I think the Irish chain is easier by hand than by machine - but it takes much longer. It all depends on how much you want to accomplish.