I also love to hand quilt - and many years ago I took a class to see if there was a better way than the way I do it. The instructor was quite accomplished and she loved to make the white one piece quilts where the quilting was the entire design. Some day I hope to make one. But my big take away was, she said to keep a practice piece to run a few inches to get your hands warmed up. And for me it still helps getting my stitch rhythm. I do not using cotton batting, since I started with poly batting, going thru cotton was like going thru a brick wall. So I prefer either the poly or wool. Some day I plan to try bamboo but haven't done it yet.
My inspiration was/is Georgia Bonesteel - love her books, her films, and her work. But she once said the most important part was enjoy what you are doing, consistent stitches are important, but no one is going to put "She could quilt 14 stitches to an inch" on your tombstone, so we shouldn't worry about it.