My friend Pam came over one day last week and we each made one of these Halloween cats.  Isn't it cool?  It stands 21" tall and has sand in the base to give it stability.  The pattern is by Threads That Bind and is called Stitch-n-Stiff Cat (#166).  We both have been dealing with some health issues of our husbands and decided that we needed to do something that was just fun. (I know, I know, maybe going out and drinking margarities might be more fun, but you just have to work with what you've got).
Anyway, I read through the pattern and decided that there must be a better way.  It called for black wool--which would have been nice, I guess--but I had black cotton.  So, I used that and ironed on a fusibile interfacing to give it stability.  And then I used tracing paper as the applique placement guide instead of some convoluted system described in the pattern.  The other really neat thing I used was Saral Transfer Paper. That way we could directly trace the letters onto the fabric and use the triple stitch on our sewing machines to write them--instead of hours and hours of hand stitching.  (While it's true that Halloween is still a while off, we really wanted to finish this project before it comes).
So . . .it's finished.  And it was a lot of fun besides.
And oh, when you stuff a cat's tail, only stuff a tiny bit at a time and push it all the way to the tip end each time.  Otherwise, you'll end up with a rock-hard tumor in the middle.  Ask me how I know.