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.
Go Thibault! Hope I get to ride it one day too. Very pretty shawl!
Comment by Nora — July 26, 2015 @ 11:13 am
Well done! You still finished with lots of time to spare. I’m just watching the last stage now and I’m not quite sure who I’m cheering for, but it’s always fun to watch the last sprint.
Comment by Natalie — July 26, 2015 @ 11:26 am
Absolutely stunning . . . time well spent!
Comment by Mary M — July 26, 2015 @ 2:59 pm
Well done! You didn’t waste anytime before casting on. I’m still contemplating yarns.
Comment by Penny — July 26, 2015 @ 6:58 pm
that shawl is simply just beautiful – like everything you knit! A lovely reminder of this year’s Tour!
Comment by Barb R. — July 27, 2015 @ 8:55 am
Gorgeous way to commemorate that climb. How I wish I could knit like you. The Tour passed in a blur for me this year, even forgetting the projected Alpe d’Huez climb which I had been determined to witness since I also had visited there a very long time ago. I rode up on a tourist bus in a blinding snowstorm and when I emerged from a long afternoon in a cozy cafe, the snow had stopped and the Alp presented itself as a dazzling, heart-stopping winter wonderland – a memory to last a lifetime.
Comment by Chloe — July 27, 2015 @ 9:52 pm
Your shawl is PERFECTION! Love all the chat about the Tour de France! Why did Matt retire? He was doing so well! Maybe better to go out on top!
Comment by Kathy W. — July 28, 2015 @ 12:02 am
Whenever I see one of your red projects I think I need to step out of my earth tones comfort place.
Okay, I’m really gonna knit a red shawl, for once and for all. Have the yarn sitting so there’s no excuse!
Comment by Melissa — July 29, 2015 @ 1:11 am