March of the Penguin

COLD! Minnesota in January is Arctic Cold - or should I say Antarctic Cold? Friday, Jan. 20 was Penguin Appreciation Day!!

Who doesn't like penguins? Okay, not Batman's nemesis The Penguin;  I'm talking about real-life, waddling, diving, swimming penguins. Add in Morgan Freeman's narration on March of the Penguins, it's no wonder that movie was so popular!


Speaking of Batman (and Morgan Freeman) - I spent the better part of two hours last night in an unheated cave, talking about mushrooms and dead gangsters. With accountants. A local accounting firm had their holiday party at the Wabasha Street Caves; and I was giving mini-cave tours to groups of 50-75 people throughout the evening. It was actually a lot of fun; most of them were nerdy enough to be interested in the history of the caves and St. Paul's gangster era, and just tipsy enough to appreciate some outrageous flirting with a tommy-gun wielding gangster moll. All in all, not a bad way to earn a living.

channeling my inner moll

And now - penguins! It was late when I started this project, but I knew what I wanted to do, so a quick gathering of supplies and I was ready. A sock doll is the perfect shape for a penguin; and since the snowman decoration was put away, Lois the cat was looking a little lonely in her corner. She needed a friend.

This time I used fiberfill to stuff a thick black sock, cut off the cuff, sewed it closed, and started adding some details.








Some orange fleece for a beak and web feet, the extra cuff fabric cut into wing shapes, and a snippet of the fluffy poodle/popcorn fabric from Thursday night. This gave my penguin a hairy-chested, manly look, which I like very much.

Pedro & Lois

Pedro the Penguin took shape very nicely, and joined Lois by the fireplace. Time of completion - 11:50 p.m.; booya! My son was confused by the Spanish name, until I pointed out to him that there are penguins in South America, as well as South Africa, Australia, and of course, Antarctica.

Stay cool!