theraineysisters knitting and so much more

July 26, 2015

From Sally — Queen of the Mountain

Filed under: Updates — surly @ 9:17 am

I’ve been a fan of cycling for lo these many years. I still remember Greg LeMond’s heart-stopping victory over Laurent Fignon in the 1989 Tour de France and, as long time readers know, my son-in-law was a pro cyclist. (He retired last year.) So how is it I never knew about Natalie Servant’s Tour de France shawl knitalongs? I learned about it this year at Knitting Camp. The challenge: cast on and finish the shawl before the riders reached Paris.

Even though the Tour had been going on for a week, I accepted the challenge and cast on. This year’s design was called Labrouste, designed by Natalie Servant and modeled after the gorgeous ceiling in the Henri Labrouste reading room in the Bibliotheque Nationale. Sun Valley Fibers was at Knitting Camp, and I purchased some of their luscious MCN Fingering in Terra Cotta.

I loved having an excuse to sit and knit and watch this year’s Tour without feeling guilty. I was rooting for a Frenchman to win. It didn’t happen, but Romain Bardet and Thibault Pinon gave me a lot to cheer about. I cast off just as the riders were about to start the final climb up the legendary Alpe d’Huez. In 1989, my husband rode up that climb. I drove to the top to wait for him. It was a scary road even in a car. I drove so slowly, and he rode so fast, that I was barely out of the car before he arrived. I still remember Nora running after him. (She was only 3.) Perhaps that’s where her love of cycling was born.

Below are some photos of the shawl, including a shot of the climb (well, of the TV showing the climb) and the unblocked shawl draped over the screen.




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