I "fake-swapped" (I.e., worked on a themed project without actually exchanging it with anyone) this figure for Craftster's Junker Jane-style Dolls 3 swap. Junker Jane (Catherine Zacchino) is an Oregon artist that creates atypical plush figures out of mismatched pieces of recycled fabric. Her works tend to be equal parts whimsical and dark (and she also does paintings/prints in addition to fabric art).

As for the title I gave this piece, when my eldest niece was a little girl she had trouble pronouncing "animal", and it came out "aminal" instead, which I found to be both hilarious and adorable. Thus, aminal has become a part of my vocabulary ever since and that misspelled word also struck me as a good moniker for an unusual-looking creature like this one.

For this figure, I basically sculpted a papier mache form, and then covered it with a fabric patchwork skin that I sewed together by hand.

*****

Materials:
Fabric scraps (from T-shirts, pillows cases, and long underwear), sewing thread, half of a metal snap (an eye), a plastic button (the other eye), a plastic vacuum-metallized heart charm (tail tip decoration), a fuzzy synthetic feather duster decoration from the end of a novelty pen (mane), newsprint, and white glue.

Dimensions:
4.7 cm (1.9") wide x 18.3 cm (7.2") long x 25.7 cm (10.1") high.
Excluding the tail and mane, the figure is 18.2 cm (7.2") tall.

Time:
Six days; January 26th through the 31st (2016).