Another Year on Sweet Hearts

Back in November I realized with a chill that on Valentine's Day, 2013, I wrote that I hoped to have all nine of my Sweet Heart redwork designs finished by Valentine's Day, 2014. I knew then that there was no way that was going to happen! Not after I'd spent so much time on Best Friends Forever. But I made a push, and finished this little guy, who may well be my favourite:

With the spats on the shoes and the striped outfit, I'm pretty sure this is a boy. But he feels quite familiar all the same...

Yes, that's me on the right!

I've realized that I stitched all the singles first, and now I have all the couples left. In general, the couples had more detail, so I guess I started with the easier ones. The first couple is well underway:

And here's a layout of all nine to give you a sense of where things are going:

I really do want to finish them and move on to the next steps with my plans for some pieced and applique borders. Too many projects! In any case,