Around the time of my birthday, Mum spent two weeks in New Zealand, and bought part of my birthday present there. Birthday Yarn from Mum.

You might not think that it looks particularly special, but check out the label on the inside of the cone: Possum/Merino/Silk

I’ve never used possum yarn before! This vegetarian (well, sort of vegetarian – I ate meat for the first time in 6 years on Friday night!) hates to think how they got the fur off the possum. Roadkill? In any case, the possum is an introduced species in New Zealand, and regarded as a pest, so I feel less badly about it than I might otherwise.

In any case, I have Wrap Style out of the library, and I wanted to make something out of it. To be honest, I’ve found Wrap Style to be a bit of a disappointment; the vast majority of patterns included in it are poncho-type things, which I can’t ever see myself (or anyone I know) wearing. There is one stunning exception, though: Evelyn A. Clark’s Shetland Triangle. This triangular shawl is just stunning, and it turns out to be perfectly suited to my possum yarn. I really love the way the columns of stitches curve around (isn’t knitting amazing when it creates something like this?).

Start of Shetland Triangle

I’m actually a little further along with this now, having completed 3/10 pattern repeats, and really am in love with this pattern. It’s a relatively simple lace design, but it’s incredibly effective. Knitting with the possum yarn is an interesting experience: it sort of smells like dead, wet animal (perhaps because that’s what it is?), but I love the result.

Cross-posted on Grevillea.