Wei Siew Leong is a New Zealander who blogs about Yarns from her region. She is a skilled photographer, knitter and writer. We love the way she combines her talents to make this a fun site to follow – and she has written some very nice things about Zealana Yarns!

http://kiwiyarns.wordpress.com

I have to admit, when I first contacted Jimad Khan at Woolyarns to order some of their new hand knitting yarn, back in 2006, possum was the last fiber I was considering.  New Zealand merino was what I was after, having depleted my supply and unable to find it at my local yarn shops.  Jimad urged me to try the possum, and I did, but only out of curiosity, and only a little of it to go along with my merino order.  I loved the new Zealana brand so much (especially the possum), my husband said I should import it – easier said than done, but here we are, 4 years later!

Because most Americans have a negative perception of possums (or mainly the opossums we have in America), possum yarn has had a rough start.  Some New Zealand manufacturers have abandoned it altogether.  Woolyarns will release their 6^th and 7^th possum blends at TNNA in June.  They are a mill with a mission: to provide hand knitters with what has been the best kept secret in the high fashion world for over a decade, while helping to protect an ecosystem.

Possum is the ECO -Fur

“But there’s that killing thing”, you say.  It’s a problem for some, but the fact is, the animals would be just as dead if we didn’t utilize their fur.  Without culling, New Zealand would be stripped of foliage and several native species of birds in a very short time.  Some of these birds are already nearly extinct and live only in sanctuaries, such as the Karori which Woolyarns supports.  If you love the beauty of this delicate ecosystem, knitting with possum yarn is one of the best things you can do to protect it.  Possums will never be farmed for their fur and (barring a biological disaster) will never “run out”.

All possums aside, the low pill factor, the softness, lightness and look of these yarns are reason enough to love them.

The other Zealana

Possum may be their specialty, but Woolyarns intends to make Zealana a full-range brand.  Our 2109 Merino Cashmere has now been replaced by Willow, a 70/30 blend that feels like pure cashmere. Vogue Knitting will feature it in a cabled cardigan this coming Fall issue.  Watch for new braided yarns for fall, as well as some new colors.

We’ll be at the TNNA in Long Beach, CA on January 9-11, 2010  in booth # 343, 345. We’ll be showing the 3 new Melissa Leapman designs in the Fashion Show, and introducing the Premier Fiber Group line of designs by Tammy Eigeman Thompson. Also new: Zealana package purchases with huge discounts.

We now have possum roving for felting and spinning.  <em><strong>Tui </strong></em>comes undyed (for now) in 500 gram bags, and is 70% merino, 15% cashmere and 15% possum.  Our first shipment went fast, but there is more to come.  Absolutely dreamy to spin!

The Needleworks Industry seems to be functioning normally in this uncertain economy, if attendance at TNNA is any indication. We were very pleased with the amount of customer traffic at our booth and have plans to increase our space for Columbus in June. No record-breaking sales, but we left with several new customers, four new reps and the feeling that possum is getting popular!

 Zealana Yarns include many merino blends, besides very high-quality 100% New Zealand Merino, but the merino possum blends are finally being recognized as the luxury yarns they are, rather than just a novelty. Knitter’s Review picked “Kiwi” as one of the top 5 yarns at the show. They also ran a review of Zealana’s ECO merino Possum (80% Merino 20% Possum), that generated many positive responses from knitters that have tried it.

Now that we’ve all recovered from TNNA and the viruses we caught on the plane, we’re out on the streets again, doing our favorite thing, which is hanging out in yarn shops. If we haven’t called you for an appointment yet, and you’d like to see all of our awesome lines, please call us. We have new Fall yarns from Alchemy, Kollage and Farmhouse, as well as the new Kia Ora line from Zealana. Namaste has a new bag, the Newport, and specials on several. Jill is now representing Bergere de France in part of our territory, as well.

Our warehouse in Monument, Colorado is bulging at the seams with Zealana yarns, and more of the new Kia Ora blends are expected this week. 

The Zealana ECO yarns are sporting new labels, and we’ll have several new colors for fall shipments. We’re extending our TNNA special of 10% off and $200.00 minimums until July 15th. 

Since we didn’t have time to get all of the Kia Ora dyed in time for TNNA, we had some of the Rimu (Merino and Possum) and Kauri (Merino, Possum & Silk) hand-dyed by Valerie Young at Table Rock Llamas, just to show-off the possibilities. Valerie’s colors were so popular that we sold out, and she is doing more. Marilyn Dakan at Royal Fiber Spinnery dyed some of the Willow (Merino Cashmere) for us, which sold-out as well. In fact, we intend to keep the hand-dyeing line going, for a small premium. Those who purchased at the show will get it at the regular price -lucky you!

The YarnSisters are all fizzing with excitement since we got word that we’ve been chosen as the official distributors for Zealana Yarns in the US!! Some of you will remember us from a year or two ago, running into your shop to drop off samples of Zealana. Some of you placed orders, but unfortunately, some of you never received them… and then we were canned by the importer. It’s a soap opera too long for this blog, but a very bad experience has now become a fantastic opportunity! Our first shipments of yarn have just arrived at our warehouse in Colorado, and we’ll be at TNNA in booths 1352 and 1354. Please come to see us…

…and if you’ll be at TNNA, we’re having a wine & cheese reception to celebrate: June 7th from 6:00-8:00 PM at the Hyatt Convention Center. I’m not sure which room, but look for signs near the bar or ask at the desk. We’ll have factory representatives and wine from New Zealand.

For any of you who were disappointed when you placed orders before, we’ll knock ourselves out to make it up to you.