Possum Yarn

Yes, I am still knitting.  I don't have lots of time for it, but still do a little when I can.  Here are some mitts I recently made with yarn from New Zealand.  It is a Zealana brand yarn made right here in Wellington from their "Kauri" line in the Ponga Fern colorway.  I love how it resembles the colors I see in nature here.  For the knitters out there, it is lovely to work with and I can highly recommend it as a quality yarn.

New Zealand is famous for its sheep and high quality yarns.  One of the yarns unique to the area is Possum Merino.  This project is made out of this type of yarn.  Its luxurious, amazingly soft, has beautiful loft and halo to it.  It usually comes as a blend, with about 60% wool and 40% fur (the yarn above is a bit unusual in that it is 60% NZ Merino, 30% Possum and 10% silk---the added silk gives it a bit of strength, drape and sheen).

Possum yarn has a bit of a sad story to it.  The possum here is not to be confused with our marsupial opossums at home.  It is like a rat and a terrible pest that is not indigenous to New Zealand.  Once it got NZ from Australia (along with the rats) it started to destroy the environment.  It likes to make its home in the forest canopy and eats it to the point of destruction.  They were introduced in the 1850's, and had no natural predators here, so they spread like wildfire, and are now considered a plague.  Possums continue to be responsible for decimating native forests and endangering the rare bird populations, such as the kiwi.  It is a kill fibre, part of the fur industry.  No one wants possums here, and there is even a government elimination program.  The motto is, "Save a kiwi, knit with possum."

I am happy to knit of course.  I will keep saving the kiwis as best I can.

Claudine