Anna Yastrezhembovskaya, the Russian artist loves crafts and she needle-felted animals by hand. She creates each animal perfectly. Here are some of Yastrezhembovskaya’s charming felted animals from textile birds to a tiny fuzzy hedgehog. Her handmade toys pays homage to the many creatures that inhabit the artist’s nearby forests.
She said, “My first toy wasn’t nearly as pretty, it was rather funny. But I enjoyed the process so much that I kept trying. I was felting during my free time, even at night, and I got better with each toy I made.” She’s not only perfected her craft but she now has a business selling her felted animals on Etsy.
A super-cute bat, a toy that was first designed and crafted for her daughter is her most popular woolen character. Yastrezhembovskaya received a lot of orders when people saw the cute bat online. She said, “I am flattered that my bats won the hearts of so many people, but the number of orders I got was terrifying,” It takes ten 12- to 14-hour days to make one felted bat. So, the artist feels a little overwhelmed, as she’s a one-woman show. “Of course, I will keep felting as many bats as I can, but I want people to understand that these toys are fully handmade, so it’s a fairly lengthy process.”
She added: “Wool is a very gentle and cozy material for me. When I sort the fibers between my fingers when I shape them with a needle – I put my soul into each toy.”
Anna Yastrezhembovskaya:Facebook | Instagram | Etsy