map, map on the wall

During my big craft closet clean-out I discovered a stash of Grand Rapids maps. I very vaguely remember rescuing them from their trash destiny at an old job but the details escape me now. I had 12 of them and have been happily gifting them to people I know, especially those who live here in the city and feel fond about it.

At any rate, I actually went from vision to completion fairly quickly on this one. I bought a huge poster frame on my IKEA trek, paper punched a heart out of some translucent glue, marked our lovely home, and then leaned up against my black & white wall in the basement living room. Simple and fun! My older daughter likes to study where we live in relation to other places she knows. Her school in a neighboring city even shows up on the bottom of the map.

Other ideas might include marking multiple homes or meaningful spots or collaging related photographs onto the map. One woman I know who has lived in multiple homes in the city throughout her life wanted to attach photos of her at the age she lived in each home.

Any other map inspiration, friends?

amazing map quilt inspiration!

So apparently I can't stop talking about quilts this week.

Recently I was searching for an image of all the Great Lakes (as opposed to just Michigan) that I could trace for something at work when I came across this magnificent quilt.

Great Lakes Quilt by Haptic Lab

This same company – Haptic Lab – uses maps of cities to create quilts. The quilting itself represents the streets! Amazing, beautiful, subtle. I am seriously in awe!

New York City by Haptic Lab

detail of New York City by Haptic Lab