IT IS YOUR OPOSSUM TO WOOL

I had never heard the phrase “It’s your opossum to wool” before my husband’s grandmother dropped it on me.  I immediately fell in love with it.  Opossums, in my experience, are nasty little creatures.  The one I got “close” to was a baby that was hissing and baring its teeth at me.  I couldn’t conceptualize why anyone would bother to harvest the fur of such a critter, let alone string it into wool.  “It’s your opossum to wool” became a favorite phrase anytime there was a problem that someone needed to take care of.  Imagine my delight when I discovered Zelana Rimu yarn made with opossum!  Well, really it is brushtail possum.  The brushtail possum is a marsupial (like our opossums) that are native to Australia.  They were introduced to New Zealand in 1837 to establish a fur trail.  Geez was that successful.  Right now the New Zealand population is 4.4 million people while the brushtail possum population is 70 million.  The brushtail possum became so numerous that they became a pest.  This possum consumes 21,000 metric tons of native plants every 24 hours.  They destroy habitat for native animals like the kiwi.  By using the yarn from brushtail possums we can further establish a demand for their fur, inspire more people to trap them, reducing their population and conserving the native species.  Okay, so who wants to wear a possum fur hat.  ME!  The brustail possum hair has a hollow core, making it an excellent insulator.  The Zealana yarn contains 60% merino (sheep wool) and 40% possum.  This combination is 55% warmer than 100% merino wool and 35% warmer than 100% cashmere.  And it is soft!  So, I’m glad someone else is wooling those possums.  I can’t wait to make my new winter hat.  You can find this yarn in Fayetteville, AR at Handheld.  Likewise, you can check out the Zealana web site at https://zealana.co.nz/about-us-and-possum/