Andrea "BorntoHandQuilt" will probably stop in on this thread and point you to a very helpful tutorial she posted about hand quilting. She does a fabulous job, one tiny stitch at a time. I use the rocking stitch method, and get between 12 and 14 stitches.
What you need to do is stack the deck for smaller stitches. To do this, I use certain things that have worked well for me:
1. Needles: I use a size 11 between. Right now, I like John James and Richard Hemmings. It is worth trying different needles because they react differently to pressure. For example, my last batch of Roxanne betweens slipped through the sandwich so quickly I stabbed my finger.
2. Thimble: I use a Roxanne or a TJ Lane thimble. They both have deep dimples that hold the needle without letting it slip around. Slipping = long stitches.
3. Batting: I get the smallest stitches when I use polyester batting, although I do a good job with cotton too. My experience with Warm and Natural hasn't been good, so I avoid any batting with scrim.
4. Backing: I use muslin. While I love to use batiks on the top and have no trouble hand quilting them, batik on the back is too much stiffness.
5. Tension: when I have the sandwich in the hoop or on the frame, I keep it loose. If it is too tight, there is not enough flex in it to make a good stitch. If you use a hoop, it should look like the cat just sat on it.
6. Stitches: Stitching on the bias is easier than on the straight of grain. If you stitch on the straight of grain, loosen the tension even more.
7. Practice: I didn't start out quilting 12 stitches per inch. I got there over time. Even now I still read anything I find on hand quilting and try new needles, because I never know when I'll find a hint that will make my hand quilting even better.
Janet