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Meet the man who knits sweaters of famous landmarks, and then visits them

Sam Barsky takes bringing a sweater on vacation to a whole new level.
/ Source: TODAY

When Sam Barsky first started knitting sweaters 18 years ago, his designs featuring different landmarks were inspired by places he had already visited.

Soon the Baltimore man came up with a better idea that took his vacation pictures to a new level.

Samuel Barsky knits sweaters of places, then visits them.
Here's Sam Barsky wearing a self-knitted sweater featuring Stonehenge — in front of the actual Stonehenge. Courtesy of Samuel Barsky

"Now I'm doing them before going to a certain place,'' Barsky told TODAY. "At first I was just doing it unconsciously, but then I decided to make that an intentional form of art."

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To the delight of the internet, Barsky, 42, has taken photos of himself wearing many of his 103 self-made sweaters of landmarks in front of the actual places, from Times Square in New York City to Stonehenge in England.

He has photos in front of 91 of the designs in his sweaters, including the Bahai Gardens and Dead Sea in Israel, where he traveled in December.

"Pretty much anything that crosses my eye is a possible sweater,'' Barsky said. "There's all different things that can inspire one. I just choose a place I'm planning to go to and come up with a design."

Samuel Barsky knits sweaters of places, then visits them.
Barsky knits sweaters in advance of his trips to various places to match the local landmarks, like Niagara Falls in this case. Courtesy of Samuel Barsky

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Not everything needs to be a famous landmark, either. He knitted one of a nearby transmission tower.

"I did the transmission towers because I see them all the time,'' he said. "They're everywhere, so I thought that was a possible idea for a sweater."

Samuel Barsky knits sweaters of places, then visits them.
Barsky is also inspired by common structures like transmission towers. Courtesy of Samuel Barsky

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He had hoped to get one done for Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. holiday but didn't get it finished in time. Each sweater takes him about a month to knit.

Next on his list is one for Groundhog Day on Feb. 2.

"It's hard to tell which one is my No. 1 favorite because I like so many of them, but some I like better than others,'' Barsky said. "There's always something new to be inspired by."

Follow TODAY.com writer Scott Stump on Twitter.