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I'm so glad I went back when I was in town last weekend.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300243lo.jpg)
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![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300168cropLO.jpg)
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It is utterly delightful.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300243lo.jpg)
For a mere 25 cents (I emptied all my spare change into the can), you get to enter a wonderland of art and whimsy...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300157lo.jpg)
...handcrafted into various shapes...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300158lo.jpg)
...and sizes...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300155lo.jpg)
...with dangly legs and gangly arms on all creatures small and smaller.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300165lo.jpg)
There's even a mini crocheted version of the museum itself.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300163lo.jpg)
There's barely enough room for one person to turn around inside (though the official capacity is 2)...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300193lo.jpg)
...without bumping into a clown nose or a pair of eyes made of buttons...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300201lo.jpg)
...or googlies.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300150lo.jpg)
It's all the work of artist Shari Elf...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300156lo.jpg)
...who doesn't actually crochet the items herself...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300151lo.jpg)
...but rather collects these crocheted creatures in her travels.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300172lo.jpg)
She's clearly got an eye for variety, curating everything from frogs...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300168cropLO.jpg)
...to chickens...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300161lo.jpg)
...to Smurfs...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300183lo.jpg)
...and octopi.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300176lo.jpg)
There are plenty of pop culture references in her collection, too, from Star Wars...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300184lo.jpg)
...to Star Trek.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300190lo.jpg)
It's all located inside an old fiberglass photo kiosk (perhaps a Fotomat? RoadsideArchitecture.com thinks it was a CLIC Photo booth) that Elf rescued from the roadside—without knowing exactly what she was going to do with it.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300173lo.jpg)
But it almost feels as though these crocheted creations were born here.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300178lo.jpg)
They're so cute and colorful.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300188lo.jpg)
You might even want to take one home with you.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300189lo.jpg)
But just as with many museums, none of the works of art on display are actually for sale.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300211lo.jpg)
And signs urge you not to touch or move the collection.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300208lo.jpg)
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300257lo.jpg)
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No matter how tempting that may be.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300204lo.jpg)
She may not know how to crochet per se, but Elf herself is an artist...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300208lo.jpg)
...and you can find some of her work throughout the rest of the Art Queen compound.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300257lo.jpg)
But her curatorial masterpiece is most definitely the World Famous Crochet Museum.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300225lo.jpg)
The items exhibited herein are from Elf's own travels, as well as from fans and friends who send her knit knickknacks from around the world.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300233lo.jpg)
Despite their disparate provenance, they seem to share a certain commonality.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300213lo.jpg)
Even if it's just how adorbs they are.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300216lo.jpg)
The collection started with the innocent-seeming acquisition of some plastic soap bottle covers in the form of poodles...
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300265lo.jpg)
...and they still remain the centerpiece of the museum.
![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1300263lo.jpg)
Their crystal eyes are hypnotizing, trying to convince you to start knitting a collection of your own.
Are there other crochet museums out there? Let me know in the comments.
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