Hand sewing vs machine sewing... thoughts?

I'm working on my second head, and one of the improvements I want to make over my first head is fur that fits more closely to the resin base, so it obscures its form less. (Here's pics of my first head: http://www.sanssoucistudios.com/fursuitwolfhead.html )

I just finished sewing together the face for a new mask out of scrap fur I had lying around, playing with stitches and such, and I'm really happy with how it came out: https://www.facebook.com/sanssoucistudios/photos/a.146589718747115.36816.138871736185580/1344890648917010/?type=3&theater

This time I did it all with hand sewing, not machine sewing, as a lot of the bulk material/seams I'd get that would hide the form of the base would be from areas where the seams were less than perfect, especially in areas where a lot of seams came together, such as the corners of the eyes. As far as machine sewing goes I just don't have those kinds of skilz yet!!

So while it took forever to sew the face together by hand I think the results are well worth it. I'm curious to know: when do you do hand sewing? Machine sewing? What stitches do you use when you do hand sewing? (I used what I think is called the blanket stitch here.) TIA!