Hello Possums **

Last year, the week after I had surgery, my friends Karen and Lorene, headed over to the Land of the Long White Cloud for a clogging convention [ Appalacian tap dancing to the uninformed ]
Usually my souvenir of choice is a postcard, but I think they figured post-major-surgeries-me needed something a bit more comforting.

So they bought me two balls - one mauve and one kiwi fruit green - of possum/merino yarn.
Now do they know me or what ?

I do have to say was horrified the first time I saw a garment made out of possum fur yarn from New Zealand but after reading up on the subject, my viewpoint has mellowed a bit.

Here in Australia possums are cute little animals. Moderately annoying when they decimate the garden.
Very annoying if they get into the roof and pee.but cute

[ they are not to be confused with American Opossums which are nasty and ugly ]

but across the pond in New Zealand, where they are an introduced species with no natural predators, they are a major headache.THEY are the predators and are decimating native NZ wildlife

so they have to be culled
it's that or lose a host of beautiful and unique lifeforms
et voila, the possum fur yarn industry.
Possum is a hollow fibre and one of the warmest on the planet, so almost too warm for even a freezing Central Victorian morning [ did I mention that it's not even winter yet and it was minus 1 this morning ? ] so a possum/merino blend is just about ideal
and
sooooo soft
Of course, you're limited with only one ball of a given colour, so I immediately thought hat ... one of those poochy slouchy ones that everyone's wearing.
Unfortunately as it progressed, I realised that - on me with the super short hair and middle aged face - it looked like something I should wear to muck out the goats.
SO the planned decreases for a crown never happened and it evolved into the
Hello Possum Cowl

you'll have to trust me on the colour - it looks pale greenish grey on my monitor but is really the colour of kiwi fruit flesh

The cables 'pop' so beautifully, and there's a short fuzzy brown halo of possum fur all over.


specs:

yarn:
1 ball of Utiku Possum Merino 8 ply
[ supposedly a DK weight but I didn't like the super dense fabric on the recommended 4mm - I'd call it more of an Aran / Light Worsted ]
needles:
5mm KP Harmony circular
pattern :
improvised - could be a freebie if anyone needed it


** "Hello Possums" is the catch phrase of a certain iconic cross-dressing Australian comedian