JOSHUA TREE, Calif. — Down a bumpy back alley in Joshua Tree is one of the coziest museums in California. It’s called the World Famous Crochet Museum, and the cargo van-sized museum is the brainchild of Shari Elf.
When asked if there are many crochet museums in the world, Elf says, “Not any nearly as worldly famous as this. I don’t think there's any."
Elf is an artist and collector of oddities. She became attracted to crochet items when she lived in Kansas City and when she moved to Joshua Tree, she needed a place to put her collection.
“I found this building on the side of the road in Yucca Valley, and it became the World Famous Crochet Museum,” said Elf.
Inside you'll find all sorts of crocheted items. Many are stuffed animal figurines you won’t find anywhere else.
“With crochet, you can’t make it with a machine. These are all handmade,” said Elf.
As funky as some of the crochet figurines are, they were all made with surprisingly fine details.
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The items in the Crochet Museum are not for sale, but if you head over to Elf’s store, you may find something you like. The artist and fashion designer says her crochet museum is really a roadside attraction meant to inspire artists to integrate crochet into their work.
Take for example artist Cody Montgomery. He shoots vintage T-shirts with a shotgun and then adds crochet to it. He calls it Totally Blown.
“Every sale, I donate a portion of the proceeds to help end gun violence,” said Montgomery.
Elf’s love for crochet even has an international following on her YouTube page. Her biggest star, “Bunny” the alligator, inspires art and music.
“I had recorded the song first and I didn't know any Bunny that I wanted to sing to. Then I thought, 'Wait a minute, I have that crocheted alligator. I'm going to name her Bunny,'” said Elf.
Not everything at the World Famous Crochet Museum makes sense, but art doesn’t have to make sense to everyone. Elf just hopes her little back-alley museum in Joshua Tree inspires someone.
“I hope that more people make a roadside attraction so you [Bartell’s Backroads] can come do a story on them,” said Elf.
Another tiny place to make a pit stop on the Backroads: For over 130 years the Little Shrine, a unique spiritual oasis-for-two, has been drawing visitors to Colusa County.
