It can be fun to collect little reminders of a visit to a famous tourist attraction or place. You can usually find them in those ubiquitous little shops and stalls that begin to appear as you approach the landmark – the ones hawking kooky fridge magnets, hand-crafted wooden statues, keyrings, mugs and the“I <3 THIS PLACE” T-shirts.
Or, you can do it the Samuel Barsky way. For 20 years, Sam has been making sweaters with recognized places on them, creating everything from Stonehenge, London’s Tower Bridge, and the Niagara Falls in stylish long and short-sleeve knits. But that’s only the half of it. In what is a particularly creative and wholesome excuse to travel, Sam has since been heading to the places depicted on his sweaters to pose in front of them with his matching outfit for a smiling selfie. Pretty cool huh?
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Sam’s crafty travels have earned him 100k followers on Facebook and Instagram, who enjoy his creative work and quirky, colorful styles. “I realized after knitting a few generic scenery sweaters and seeing a picture of London’s Tower Bridge in a magazine, which became inspiration, that anything could be a sweater,” he told Create Whimsy. With over 140 sweaters knitted so far, it seems like he’s out to prove it!
Scroll down to see some of our favorite Samuel Barsky designs for yourself, and let us know what you think in the comments!
#1 Ice Skating
Image credits: Sam Barsky
Sam started knitting in 1999 when he met the owners of a local yarn shop. “I asked them where you can learn to knit,” he told Bored Panda in an earlier interview.
“They offered to teach me for free under one condition – that I buy their yarn. I agreed. It was a dream come true after years of signing up for knitting classes that would always get canceled due to low enrollment. In the years that followed, I have knitted 106 sweaters featuring various nature scenes, landmarks, holidays, and more, all freehand without a graph. Each sweater has an interesting (long) story behind it.”
#2 Sedona
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#3 Owls
Image credits: Sam Barsky
Sam says he’s had to overcome plenty of challenges to complete his sweaters, including traveling long distances to obtain yarn and rushing to knit them in time for a specific event. “At first, I didn’t think anything of the idea of posing in front of the landmarks or objects they represent. But it seemed like the natural choice to wear them there. Before long, I had 10-15 such pictures. I realized this was a form of art of its own and I started making a conscious effort to create more pictures like these.”
#4 Groundhog Day
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#5 Hollywood Sign
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#6 Hanukkah III
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#7 Leaning Tower Of Pisa
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Image credits: Sam Barsky
#8 M&t Bank Stadium – Current Temporary Picture Is At High School Football Field
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#9 Red Rock Canyon
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#10 The Gateway Arch
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#11 Portland Head Lighthouse
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#12 Las Vegas Strip
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#13 Colonial Williamsburg
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#14 Carnegie Hall
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#15 Passover III
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#16 Cape May Lighthouse
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#17 Pittsburgh
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#18 Reptiles
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#19 Birthday Cake
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#20 Chautauqua Park, Boulder
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#21 Boulder Creek
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#22 Mt. Washington
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#23 London Bridge Arizona
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#24 Grand Canyon
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#25 Sherwood Gardens
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#26 Hoover Dam
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#27 Pinball
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#28 Natural Bridge
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#29 Cape May
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#30 Rocky Mountain National Park
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#31 Boulder Central Library
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#32 Sukkah Iv
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#33 Grottoes
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#34 Tel Aviv
Image credits: Sam Barsky
#35 Rocky Mountain National Park
Image credits: Sam Barsky
Source: boredpanda.com