I love to hand piece but still at it. Question: Can you paper piece by hand?

of course you can but get the softest, thinnest paper you can find.

thanks. I thought i would try tracing paper.

I've thought of using newsprint, have not tried it yet. You can get endrolls from your local newspaper very inexpensively...not much more than you would pay for a sketchbook and have lots more paper. At ours they are in the $7-$12 range depending on size. Single page width with about 1"-2" paper left would be the $7-$9,double page width would be the $10-$12 pricing.
Works great for packing paper too.
Newsprint might tear off more easily than the tracing paper.

Can you hand stitch small enough so that when you pull the paper off it doesn't tear out your stitches?

for soft paper, take a look at the paper used in doctor's offices for covering exam tables....I offered to buy a roll of it from my chiropractor and he gave it to me...wonderfully soft..and his brand, being only for covering the headrest, is only about a foot wide.

I have done this but with very light weight interfacing.
just don't remove it after stitching.

English paper piecing is a very relaxing way to quilt. Hexagons and blocks are great.