i would fussy cut the penguins into squares(as in be mindfull of where you are cutting so the squares have actual penguins in them rather than peices of penguin) then i would do an alternating square in either a four or nine patch, squares made of four different coloured triangles or sew rows of three colours to equal the width of your penguin squares, like this
http://www.google.ca/images?hl=en&q=...w=1003&bih=540 which is fairly easy to do. you can make the squares slightly bigger than normal to make the quilt easier. well, that's what i do. i 'cheat' by making my squares 8" instead of say 5". makes putting it together and cutting alot faster and easier plus it works better i think if your fabric print is large.
do a quick bit of research. there are alot of shortcut ways to make the different squares fast and easy.
i am also working on my first d9p quilt and am pleased with how quickly it is coming together. i started with 6 1/2" squares. took 2nights to do the 9 patches and cut them apart, one night to arange half the blocks and sew them all together and i'm assuming one more night to do the rest. assuming i can work uninterupted. good luck. penguins are so cute! post a pic when you get it done