East side, west side...

[ldhenson]

As many of you on my flist have probably gathered, I love New York.

More specifically, I love turn of the century New York.

So...uh...this was pretty much inevitable, right?





I suppose these count as nos. 9a-9e in my series of stuffed toys.

They're based on turn of the century maps (dated sometime between 1903-1908 is my guess). The changes between these contours and modern-day NYC aren't huge; the most obvious differences would be the absence of the land on which the airports are situated. And of course, there's a lot of license taken here with the coastline, because there's only so much detail you can get when it comes to felt. Happy medium, dear, happy medium...



The reverse sides of the Bronx and Manhattan. Holy smokes, I'd never realized just how fiddly the southeast side of the Bronx is.



"I've a cozy little flat in
What is known as old Manhattan..."


I originally meant to do closeups of each of the other four boroughs, but my camera batteries died on me.

All the boroughs are to scale. Here they are laid out on sheets of pale blue felt.



Cartographic geekery!


ETA: Individual pics of the other boroughs.




The Bronx.



Brooklyn.



Queens narrowly escaped lasting effects from an accidental glue spill (from another project) during construction. Luckily, yours truly noticed it in the nick of time and made a heroic dash for the sink.



Staten Island, a.k.a. Borough of Richmond back in the day.


X-posted to craftgrrl (here), newyorkers (here), cute_plush (here)

Comments

[tainry.livejournal.com]

Whoah!!! 8D

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Remember when I said I dropped my latest project in a puddle of fabric glue? That was Queens! Good thing it rinsed out completely, because I sure as hell wasn't cutting that one out again!

[swankyfunk.livejournal.com]

You...are just insane. And I love it. XD

[ye4rsfr0mn0w.livejournal.com]

LOL IAWTC

[imoendraco.livejournal.com]

Holy crap I LOVE THIS.

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Thanks! They were tricky to do, but fun.

[ethora.livejournal.com]

You are now, officially, my favorite stranger.

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Hee. If only I could put that in my resume.

[widowspeak.livejournal.com]

Brilliant! That's some serious dedication to the craft right there. :)

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Aw, thanks! It was fun to really get into the details.

[http://users.livejournal.com/___vibrate/]

U'SA COOLSA!!!!

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[parisstar.livejournal.com]

I was in love with this before it even happened!!

I love maps, I have a thing for maps and globes and traveling. (The initials of my name even spell MAP, it's a serious problem) I also love this in the way that makes me wish I thought of it, but instead I bow to your craftiness.

I have love for Africa, this craft is one of those things that I'd love to make an African version. In about 40 years when I retire and have free time, I may do that and I will think of your crafty brilliance.

(Pretend this entire post was in caps lock to further express my admiration.)

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Well, thank you! I'm with you, there's something about maps that's very appealing. Though I must confess that my focus when it comes to maps tends to be narrow rather than wide, so I know certain areas very well, but I'm no good at general geography.

An African version would be complex and amazing. If you do make it, I'd love to see what you come up with. You could always start with a country or two and build it up as you go...

[buboniclou.livejournal.com]

Awesome!!!!

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

Clever Mapster

[koleena.livejournal.com]

Wow, that is a fantastic idea. Have you ever seen the movie "Age of Innocence" or read the book by Edith Wharton? I've seen the movie, yet to read the book, but she studied the manners of rich New Yorkers during the "gilded age" in New York at the turn of the 19th to 20th century. You're right-Manhattan is a wonderful place, I get the obsession.

Re: Clever Mapster

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

I've come across Wharton's name while reading, but haven't actually read her books. I'll definitely add that to my "check this out" list, thanks! It's just such a fascinating period, when technology and the country were changing so quickly.

[chaossix6.livejournal.com]

Fuckin A, bro!

I actually need something exactly like this for a halloween idea I'd be tinkering with for a long time. How big do those cushions come?

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Glad you like! Queens is 12" at its widest point, but really, I just did all these by hand so the sizes were up to me. 12" was the largest sheet I had in that color, and all the other boroughs were scaled from that.

[pinkpluspink.livejournal.com]

these are great!

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[sometimesdee.livejournal.com]

That's awesome!

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[guede-mazaka.livejournal.com]

These are awesome. Felt cartography clearly needs to be a new art form.

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

Felt cartography

Hee. Today New York...tomorrow the world!

[lupa.livejournal.com]

This is KILLER. I love them!! How long did it take you?

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It took me about a week, working on it here and there. I did all the cutting and stitching by hand. Some of the complicated contours (like the Bronx) are actually pretty tricky, as it's hard to wedge a needle in there at that angle.

[bwvalentine.livejournal.com]

i'm lucky if i can get felt to do ANYTHING... this is very impressive. wow.

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Felt can be really great to work with...it has a nice thickness and in certain ways it can be a very forgiving fabric, which certainly comes in handy!

[ballyhooo.livejournal.com]

i love that they fit together, haha. so cool!

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

That was how I knew I'd gotten it right :-)

[meganleewelch.livejournal.com]

that is one of the most creative ideas i've seen in a long time. i love it :)

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I've been wanting to do this one for a while and I'm happy how it worked out!

[pejo.livejournal.com]

YES.

Love it.

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[grace-poppy.livejournal.com]

Oh my word, oh my word, oh my word. You are the 21st century prodigy of felt.

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Well I don't know about that, but thank you :-) I'm quite pleased that I was able to maintain these kinds of contours while stitching, because I couldn't before and now I think it'll make some of my other projects easier. (I hope!)

[betsybookwyrm.livejournal.com]

I'm not really a New York person... but that is awesome.

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Eventually I'd love to do the same for other places...

[avada-sempra.livejournal.com]

Oh my god! I am absolutely amazed by this - so fantastic & awesome.

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Well, thank you! Lovely icon you have by the way.

[mscate.livejournal.com]

totally amazing!

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Thanks! When I started, I wasn't sure if I could keep the contours clean, but I'm happy with the way it came out.

[annlarimer.livejournal.com]

Groovy and awesome.

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Thanks much!

[rakushi.livejournal.com]

((dies from amazement))

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Oh dear!

::hastily revives you::