Jacob picked out some Zealana possum-blend (60% merino, 30% possum, 10% silk) yarn on our honeymoon to New Zealand, and I finally got some pictures of him wearing the cowl I made with it, since its been SOOO COLD!
First, some background on possum yarn. Possums in New Zealand are not like the ones here. As a non-native species they are an invasive predator to NZ’s birds. The short of it: New Zealand has a very unique avian population due to its remote location and lack of native mammals. Birds evolved in a very wild way here because they had no natural predators. The most widely known example of this is the Kiwi. Because the possum is killing off their already-endangered birds, NZ is curbing the population of possums wherever possible, and in the process has discovered that their fur makes wonderfully warm yarn. We had to see for ourselves, so I bought some yarn to make a cowl for Jacob. It has a distinct halo when knitted up that you can sorta see here:
I used the Lodgepole cowl pattern, because I wanted to do some colorwork, and I wanted it to be masculine enough so Jacob would happily wear it. I used bamboo DPN’s for this, and I really do not like them at all, for the record. But I think I have two-handed colorwork down now, so maybe I should try a colorwork sweater! HA! I eliminated one of the repeats to make a more snug cowl, and I added a split in the bottom ribbing to curb opportunities for the wind to sneak in to his neck while riding a bike. He has been using it this week since its become suddenly bone-chilling cold. He loves it, and it fits very snugly.
emilyWools 