My fingers are raw from stitching this guy.  The shell is vinyl.  While doing the reverse applique for the top, it was not too bad.  Then I starting on the underside, going through two layers of vinyl and the going slowed down.  Then I put all the pieces together and started stitching the shell to the belly (two layers of vinyl plus one of cotton) and things deteriorated. Badly. Mostly my fingers deteriorated. And I couldn’t find my thimble but having set myself an arbitrary deadline for getting this guy done I plowed through, even resorting to using pliers to pull the needle through. 

I’m about 95% done this morning but I had to stop.  The final stitching through one layer of vinyl and one layer of felt requires dexterity that doesn’t allow for use of the pliers.  I need my thimble, and a layer of callous on my fingers. I’m setting this guy aside for a few days. 

But I’ll be back.