Thank you!  Working in TV/Film and especially Theatre has made a 'Jane of all trades' including costuming which is an area of MLP that I want to expand into.  I'm still learning embroidery stitches and looking to broaden my horizons with other stitch styles.  Its a learning curve and the more you practice, which is while you're making the plushie, the better you get or 'finally figure it out' LOL!  As for the seam stitching, my mom taught me the art of hand-stitching straight seams when I was younger (in other words, when the sewing machine wasn't working!).  It is time consuming, as you know, but you're right...there are those areas of a pony that just require hand-stitching to make sure every piece is in the right place and comes out perfect...so I'm with you...there will always be a part of a plushie that I will sew by hand.  I've been trying to save up money to buy that elusive Brother embroidery machine so I can get my plushies done faster!!!!!  I enjoy the hand-embroidery but when you have carpal tunnel in both hands eventually you have to stop and take breaks and to embroider one of those eyes (like the signed Fluttershy) takes approx 3-4 hours because you want each stitch to be right.

Okay, so now I'm going to wander over to your gallery...