Tour de France Knit Along

2011 Tour de France Knit Along

2011-06-21T13:22:00.001+02:00

Bonjour tout le monde!

The 2011 Tour de France Knit Along will be happening on Ravelry. Signups will be open for a few more days. To take part, please visit the Tour de France Knit Along Ravelry Group. If you're not already a member of Ravelry, joining is easy!

2010 Tour de France Knit Along

2010-07-04T02:06:00.000+02:00

Bonjour tout le monde!

The 2010 Tour de France Knit Along will be happening on Ravelry. Signups will be open for a few more days. To take part, please visit the Tour de France Knit Along Ravelry Group. If you're not already a member of Ravelry, joining is easy!

2009 Tour de France Knit Along

2009-06-15T12:15:00.003+02:00

Bonjour tout le monde!

The 2009 Tour de France Knit Along will be happening on Ravelry. Signups will be opening shortly. To take part, please visit the Tour de France Knit Along Ravelry Group. If you're not already a member of Ravelry, joining is easy!

Nous avons une gagneuse!

2008-08-10T04:46:00.003+02:00

She's the Mark Cavendish of the Tour knitting world! Introducing back-to-back intermediate sprint winner Caffeine Faerie!

Caffeine Faerie's parade of FOs down the Champs-Elysees just pipped Madalyn's commentaire a la Bob Roll by just three votes on the finish line - the closest in TDFKAL recorded history!

Felicitations to our winners, runners-up, finalists, and all our participants!

Polling open in the final sprint!

2008-08-03T09:48:00.003+02:00

Bonjour knitters! We hope by now you have enjoyed a refreshing few days recovering from the gruelling tour! We have finally managed to choose our shortlist of contenders for the final prize in this year's KAL. We were struck by how many of you found an inspiring example in poor old John-Lee Augustyn's* Stage 16 dive over the side of the Col de la Bonette - and why not? It is one of the most memorable moments from this year's tour!

Without further ado, the finalists are...
(click on the link to go directly to their Final Sprint entry!)

Mari's stage-by-stage recap of the Clap[otis]
Riggwelter's mountain top experiences with lace
Madalyn's take on Craig and Bob's knitting commentary
Caffeine Faerie's parade down the Champs-Elysees
Helene/Furry with Ruffles' sprint finish (move over Thor!)

Vote below for your favourite! Remember, every vote counts and these ladies are battling it out for a real-life actual in-the-flesh Tour de France souvenir brought back for us from France by two-time Tour participant, Heather! Polls will stay open until midnight (PARIS TIME) on August 7th. Clickez-vous!

*John-Lee's birthday is coming up on August 10th, the day after the Olympics road race, in which he is competing! let's all wish him luck and happy birthday!

Rabobank Wrap-Up

2008-08-02T20:31:00.006+02:00

Sorry for the delay (I was finishing the yellow cardigan pattern, which, for me, requires full submersion), but Team Rabobank wants to check in for a final lap of glory!

Is Kate's little daughter's tunic not glorious?

Let's keep in mind that talented Kate designed this herself. I love the buttons at the shoulders. You should really click through to her blog to see the adorable pictures of Miss V checking herself out in the mirror.

Beth finished not only her Baudelaire socks, but a French Market Bag, now felted, dry, and ready for Market Action:

Remember that mechanical Sandy had back in the first days of the Tour, when her Lorna's Laces entrelac sock suddenly got really ugly and she had to get a new bike (well, project) from the team car? Sandy's going to get the better of that rainbow yarn at last, by weaving a scarf with it:

The clever crafter always triumphs. Case in point: Erika didn't have a USB cable to show us photos of her Rabobank-colored bag progress, so she got creative and typed us a picture:

-v
v- = seed stitch

/o|o\ = openwork section

colour names = stripes

Progress report (this is disproportionately narrow):

-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v
v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-
blueblueblueblueblueblueblue
orangeorangeorangeorange
-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v
v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-
\o|o/\o|o/\o|o/\o|o/\o|o/
\o|o/\o|o/\o|o/\o|o/\o|o/
\o|o/\o|o/\o|o/\o|o/\o|o/
\o|o/\o|o/\o|o/\o|o/\o|o/
\o|o/\o|o/\o|o/\o|o/\o|o/
\o|o/\o|o/\o|o/\o|o/\o|o/
-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v
v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-
orangeorangeorangeorange
blueblueblueblueblueblueblue
-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v
v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-

And Bells had to knit everywhere she went, but she did meet her goal of finishing the knitting on her eyelet cardi (shown here still partly wet, but otherwise ready for seaming):

And as for me, that yellow cardigan was ready for blocking by the end of the prime time coverage: I finished my tubular bind off on the last lap, just in time to watch the sprint (with those amazing camera angles!). I can't show you pictures yet, but keep an eye out for a preview from Popknits later this month! Ladies, it's been a privilege to knit with you and to be your Chef d'Equipe. I'm going to miss Ribby Man during the off-season especially! Now, on to the Olympics!

Final roundup from Camp Credit Agricole

2008-07-31T00:01:00.009+02:00

It has been a real privilege to be Chef D'Equip of Team Credit Agricole. The team members have shown character, finesses, pace and skill that is quite overwhelming. As is the tradition at the end of sporting broadcasts I'm not going to rabbit on but let the photos speak for themselves.

Huge thanks to Debby and Meg for what has to be one of the best KAL's on the net and to all my fellow team mates for being such sports.

Look at what we've made....

Team Silence Lotto Wrap Up

2008-07-30T00:43:00.008+02:00

Well, this was an adventure for sure. Our team was all over the place in terms of finishing our projects. We had Jennifer who gave up on her swallowtail shawl because it was stressful and not any fun at all ,all the way to Melanie who finished two sweaters (Molly Ringwald and the lingerie bed jacket) and then picked up a wip and finished a skirt!

Rosered finished 21 rows on her Lady Eleanor ("one for each stage") and is about halfway done. She is thrilled with it.

Joline finished her Juno Regina. And then went on to start a February lady sweater which she finished!Amy finished her socks and was sprinting madly toward the finish on her Sprout. Tam finished seaming her Beatrix at 1 am as the cyclists were taking their tour of Paris.

We lost some knitters on the way. They've dropped out of sight and I'm unsure of their progress. When last we checked, Justine was working on Bee fields, and Kelli was working on the Print o'the Wave stole. Megan continues on her baby surprise jacket and her Stolen Moments shawl. Ozknitter was working on socks and scarf and making good progress on both.

I have finally finished my Adamas shawl, although I finished it and blocked it last night. I wasn't figuring on finishing but was glad I did. Now I have a wrap to wear to the wedding on Saturday.

And so that ends our Tour 2008. Thanks guys for a thrilling ride!

Team Quick Step Wrap Up

2008-07-29T08:08:00.006+02:00

Well our man Gert Steegman managed a stage win in the end! Us Quick Stitchers didn't do a bad job either, look at these:

From top left:

1. Whitney's finished Gansey.
2. Madalyn's "le châle chaleureux" in progress.
3. Tour de France.
4. Angie's "Diamants de Foegere" in progress.
5. Marge's finished Fairisle vest.
6. Alli's Cropped Cardigan in progress.
7. Madalyn's "le châle chaleureux" in progress.
8. Jennifer's Quick Stitch Wrist Warmers.
9. Whitney's wonderful drawing of her finished Gansey.
10. Jennifer's "le beret de ma fille".
11. Lauren's finished "Thermal".
12. Gretchen's French Market Bag.
13. Shelley's Quick Stitch Wrist Warmers.
14. Jennifer's Monet inspired "Woolet".
15. Shelley's Pi Blanket, Beret and Wristwarmers.
16. Jessica's finished "Piggle".
17. Jessica's Quick Stitch Wrist Warmers.
18. Jennifer's Monet inspired "Woolet".
19. Quick Stitch logo.
20. Polka Dot Jersey.
21. Yellow Jersey.
22. Madalyn's "le châle chaleureux" in progress.
23. Marge's finished Fairisle vest.
24. Jennifer's Secret Lace.
25. Alli's Finished Cropped Cardigan.
26. Lauren's finished "Thermal".
27. Angie's Quick Stitch Wrist Warmers.
28. Shelley's Finished Pi Blanket.
29. Angie's "Diamants de Foegere" in progress.
30. Gert Steegman taking the final stage.

And there we have it, another race done. I have to say thank you to the girls on the Quick Stepping - Quick Stitch team for making my role as team leader and easy one.

Until next year.

Au Revior

Team CSC Wrap Up

2008-07-28T16:25:00.006+02:00

Well, we made it to Paris. Some of us a little battle worn and injured, some of us pleading for a break. But we did it; and ended up in yellow!!

Elisa finished her cabled sweater (goal #1) and spun/plied enough Gotland wool to make a crocheted shawl (goal #2). She ALSO started to knit a baby surprise jacket (goal #3) but suffered a Tour ending injury. She pressed so hard to get the sweater and shawl done in time for her local fair that she re-injured her shoulder. No crocheting or knitting for at least a month!! Bonne Chance with the healing!!

Christina participated not only in the TdF KAL but also the Tour de Fleece. Two Grand Tours!! She finished a full 10 repeats of her upstairs stole, but decided it is too short, so is adding a couple more repeats. She was hoping to finish it by Paris, but got rather sidetracked by the time trial - as we all did, right!! Her kimono shawl is probably 50% done, so she feels that she cracked the laceweight mountain!

Anne made it to the top of the back of her woven jumper (yay) - but not as far as casting on the front which is where she wanted to be. However the TDFKAL has set her on the road to finishing! Maybe she'll get it finished before Jan 2009 which would be approx 10 years (and 3 kids) after she started it. Talk about a mountain of knitting!! Her Daughter's scarf is steadily growing and will be nearly finished when she starts school.

CathyAnn finished both sleeves of her cardigan. She is still mulling over whether to try blocking it (as several have suggested) or just frogging the peplum. There was no helpful consensus at her SnB either!! In addition to her cardigan, she finished three projects for Socks for Soldiers that she started before the tour: one pair of military socks, one pair of leisure socks, and one beanie cap, and have almost finished the first leg on a second pair of military socks.

Ina finished her project, a Shetsoie shawl, plus a totally unexpected project, a Swallowtail shawl, so it was a true sprint to the finish. There's a story behind the Swallowtail - she supposes the cycling analogy is sometimes the team domestiques end up cycling twice the distance of a stage. She will have pics on her blog on Tuesday. And congrats to Ina for being a finalist in TWO of the sprints!!

Sarah is hopefully wearing her finished lace top to work today. This is what is looked like last night.

Lori is off on vacation and had her project packed so no new pictures. She figures she's fighting Wim for the Laterne Rouge. She also offered these kind thoughts: "Cheers to all you knitters who fought the good fight - knitting through tangles, pain & Bob’isms." Well put Lori!!

Jacqueline also arrived safely in Paris. Her journey up the Champs-Élysées has been completed a day early since she finished her 'Gather Robbie into my Pullover' project last night. She says "It is absolutely beautiful if I may say so myself and I love everything about it; the colour, the fit and most of all the wonderfully warm yarn." The weather didn't offer good conditions for pictures but we'll stay posted on Ravelry for an update.

Sarah B. came sooooo darned close. But she's of the belief deadlines are made to be extended, and I really can't argue with that.

I too safely arrived in Paris, wearing mon Maillot Jaune. I'm really happy with my February Lady Sweater, and once it comes winter here, I'll be seen in it frequently.

And a HUUUUGE thank you to Debby and Meg for all their hard work, preparation and organization of the best KAL I've been involved in. You ladies have rode your butts off!!

The After Stage, Team AG2R-Mondiale Wrap Up

2008-07-28T10:41:00.006+02:00

Paisley's main TdeFKAL project, the Clapotis, is long enough to finish off, but she'll keep knitting until she has finished the sea silk.
Kathy wasn't able to finish her third TdeF KAL project, a Palindrome Scarf, but she got quite far.

Stage Twenty-One: Étampes > Paris Champs-Élysées

2008-07-27T23:55:00.009+02:00

Sadly, the Tour draws to a close for another year as the riders make their traditional trip into Paris to complete their world-famous circuit of the Place de la Concorde, Rue de Rivoli, and the Champs-Elysées. It is universally acknowledged that there are no attacks on the yellow jersey in the final stage, so Carlos Sastre will be free to enjoy the ride (and have a glass or two of champagne - served from the team car - on the way into Paris).

Gert Steegmans won the prestigious sprint to take Team QuickStep's first stage victory in 2008, beating out a who's who of green jersey contenders. I'm sure they all had a chance to say au revoir to one another before going hell for leather for the line one last time!

Just in case this is your only source of TDF news - here are the final standings!
Yellow: Carlos Sastre (CSC)
Green: Oscar Freire (Rabobank)
Polka Dot (and 3rd place in the GC): Bernard Kohl (Gerolsteiner)
White: Andy Schleck (CSC)
Team: CSC

What do these riders get for riding in the Tour (other than the sheer enjoyment of it of course)? There is an elaborate system of prize monies awarded to top place-getters in each jersey classification and to the overall winners. The richest prize, of course, goes to the maillot jaune. This year, Sastre will take home €450,000. Traditionally a team's winnings are pooled and shared amongst the riders and support team. Perhaps there will be a bit set aside for a cycling charity, such as World Bicycle Relief!

Of course many of our knitters have their eyes on the knitted prize and over the next few days we hope you will put together your highlights package as your entry in our grand final intermediate sprint! Don't forget, entries close at midnight PARIS TIME on 29th July!

Your KAL co-hostesses would like to say merci to all of our participants who made the 2008 KAL so much fun! And we're sure you all join us in thanking our lovely chefs d'equipe, without whom we could not have survived! As a small token of our appreciation, we have drawn a team leader's name at random to receive the original artwork by HCA used in this year's KAL banner and jersey buttons. It seems Team CSC is going home with nearly all the prizes - Teri, the splendid leader of Team CSC, please step forward and take a bow on behalf of all your colleagues! (and also, please send Meg an email with your address!) We hope you will enjoy your artwork!

Over the next few days, the team leaders will be checking in with their team's final wrap-ups, so please make sure you keep checking back in to admire your fellow participants' knits!

Garmin-Chipotle posts:
Rosemary’s Maillot Dentelle’s whole body is now finished, thanks to a stint while waiting at Gatwick Airport for daughter's return from Spain. Several people commented on the lace as they passed by! She has now started the border which has a complicated 12 row pattern which she says she is never going to memorise. Each repeat only measures 3cm, so maybe she will remember it by the time she has knitted enough to go all the way up one side, round the neck and down the other. Her daughter took pictures of the back and a close up of the nice crunchy textured lace.

Norma is back from her wee stayaway, ibut her knitting got a bit put to the side lovely French champagne drinking hmm!!!! Her scarf was finished and worn in the cold , the polka dot jersey grewa nd the cardigan has one front finished and another on the way .The back had a growth spurt, the boring back of cardy was good for 1am when I could do without concentrating (as she did have the race to watch, way more important. The KAL was heaps of fun and she loved the blog and the work put into it. She sent well done for another Tour you hard working leaders. Hooray Garmin Chipotle for what they did too, cheers !!!
Norma’s bears are trying to distract you from her work!

Team AG2R-Mondiale

Katie is racing along with her Nether Garmets. She's already on the second leg.

Gemma has had a steep alpine climb with her knitting, aiming for the Polka Dot Jersey. But look – the shawl is in the hand of a yellow-jerseyed biker!
Team FDJ News:
Well the Tour is nearing the finish, so how have the FDJ Knitters been doing?
First up, Janine has well and truly earned her Green Jersey. Not only has she a beautiful finished Clapotis (see below), but she also made a blog post about it for every stage of le Tour which allowed everyone to see how the project was growing and growing. Felicitations Janine!

Leah had some struggles with the cold weather (Australian winter) causing her hands to ache, thereby making progress on her February Lady Sweater difficult. She has however almost finished the raglan decreases section, and once the weather warms up she'll have a beautiful garment.
Jen needs to banish all ideas that she will be kicked out of le Tour KAL because she has been a little distracted this past week with a new iPhone and EBook reader. We're not that strict around here! She has made progress on her cabled socks:

Stacy is also confident that her Mon Cheri baby sweater will be pretty much finished by the end of Le Tour:

Helen's I Do Shrug is coming along beautifully, although she had a bit of a crash the other day when she suffered a really bad cut on her hand while gardening rendering her unable to knit. As she said, the moral of the story = "don't do housework"! She is determined to finish the shrug in time for her friend's birthday.
Julia's Entrelac socks are also looking superb:

As for me, i finally have a photo of my Baudelaire socks in progress. There's clearly no way I'll get them finished by the end of the Tour but i'll keep plugging away until they're done!

See you on the other side of the Champs-Elysee!

Team Lampre update: Results thus far on the final "official" TdF day- Cindy has made a lot of progress, but is back to the drawing board for the Stargate intarsia motif. Sarah finished the back and left front of the Getaway Jacket and has a start on the right front. Kristen is to the armhole decreases on the front of the Hand in Hand vest. I haven't heard yet from all team members but will have a final progress report when the results are all in.

Stage Twenty: Cerilly > Saint-Amand-Montrond

2008-07-26T23:55:00.008+02:00

Team CSC, you must be congratulated on the stunning upset that is Carlos Sastre! As of this writing, it looks like he will win the 2008 Tour de France. Congratulations on your outstanding team effort, both in cycling and knitting!! See you at the podium tomorrow!!

Poor Cadel. It looks like he will finish second yet again. But I am thinking that one small consolation is that he is truly the best bike rider -- he got to second place virtually by himself, as his team was not much help in the mountains. Carlos had an entire team to pull him and Frank Schlek up! And qu'est que ce Robbie McEwen?? Christian Vande Velde, however, and Teams Garmin-Chipotle and Columbia were outstanding, considering many of the riders were new to their teams and the Tour.

Our new knitters in the KAL did and are doing an outstanding job too! I know many of you are time trialing tonight to finish your projects, if you are going for a green jersey (like Robbie, I've accepted that I'm beaten this year), so without further commentating, here is our race report:

Stefan Schumacher of Gerolsteiner again blew past Fabian Cancellara (CSC) in the time trial today, winning stage twenty handily. Third place went to Kim Kirchen of Columbia and fourth went to Christian Vande Velde of Garmin-Chipotle.

Yellow: Carlos Sastre (CSC)
Green: Oscar Freire (Rabobank)
Polka Dot: Bernard Kohl (Gerolsteiner)
White: Andy Schleck (CSC)
Team: CSC of course

Lantern Rouge: holding steady now at #145, our buddy Wim is firmly in last place. I wonder if he wins anything?!

Speaking of winning, Caffeine Fairy's French Onion Soup has won her our second intermediate sprint! Ms. Fairy, as soon as we hear from winner #1, Jane, on her choice of the yarns from Live 2 Knit, we'll be getting yarn out to you too! Felicitations!!

P.S. In the interest of providing my last cultural commentary for this Tour, one of the town of Cerilly's main assets is the Troncais forest, which provides good quality oak for making barrel staves for the best wines. It also has a lovely Romanesque church dedicated to St. Martin and built in the 11th century. The church is noted for its three storied bell tower. Saint-Amand-Montrond has become a center for printing and jewelry, along with luxury goods such as leather, fashion, and porcelain. In case you were wondering! ;)

Now let's get another update from our teams:

A very short post from Garmin-Chipotle has little knitting. Most of the team must be watching the Tour!
Bridget has finished the first of the Bon-bon Socklettes! She considers this to be quite an accomplishment, in that she seldom make so much progress so quickly, especially when not working on a single project.

Team Rabobank:

The last time trial is always so bittersweet - I can't believe the Tour is almost over. I'm sure the cyclists are ready to go home and rest, but I could keep watching them every morning for another three weeks at least!

Alli certainly put in a good performance! Her Rabobank-colored cycling jersey is 99% done:

You've got to click over to her blog and see her amazing photographs from her vacation in a little Alaskan cabin, where she finished knitting her jersey despite having to rip the yoke twice.

Bells is turning over a massive gear to finish the knitting of her cardigan. She thinks seaming it before the end of the race is out of reach, but I think she might surprise herself! And that overachiever Sandy has whipped out half a sock now that her market bag is finished:

Sarah has been saved from disaster by the kindness of a fellow knitter, who just happened to have cheese-doodle yellow Malabrigo Lace in her stash, and lives within cycling distance for a quick hand-off. Sarah's alternating a round with the old yarn and a round with the new, but you can't even tell there's a difference:

(pssst - that's her first try for a tubular bind off. Takes forever, but doesn't it look nice?)

On to Paris! This really has been, as Alli said, the best knitalong ever. Thanks to Meg and Debby and all the wonderful participants for a great July!

Team Quick Step Update
There's not a great deal I can report at the moment, not only are my fingers aching from knitting all morning, but I imagine everyone else is too as it's gone very quiet.
So I would like to take this opportunity to say "Thank You" to Meg and Debbie on behalf of Team Quick Stitch for a wonderful, educational, fun knitalong, yet again this year. You're both fantastic!

Congratulations to Shelley on winning the 2nd Intermediate Sprint for her delicious Onion Soup and she has also finished her blanket - photos yet to come - personally I'm sitting on the edge of me seat.

Shelley's Final Intermediate Sprint is there too, also Whitney's, and mine.

Time for some serious sprinting from me...keep going girls, you can do it.

Stage Nineteen: Roanne > Montluçon

2008-07-25T23:55:00.010+02:00

It's another stage for the sprinters today, with mostly flat roads rolling the peloton on in its relentless pursuit of Paris!

Film buffs might be familiar with the modern classics Delicatessan and Amelie. These were mise en scene by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who was born in today's ville de depart, Roanne. Perhaps a Jeunet fan had a hand in planning today's stage because the ville d'arrivee is the childhood home of one of Jeanet's most famous leading ladies, Audrey Tatou, who starred in Amelie!

Today was one of those days that come along every once in a while where the breakaway holds off the peloton. (I love it when that happens!) Having slipped away from the peloton with about 90km to go, Sylvain Chavanel beat fellow Frenchman, Jeremy Roy, in a two-man sprint for the finish line. ("mano au mano" as Phil would say!)

There was still a bit of argy-bargy over the order of finishing for the sprinters back in the main pack, with the unsinkable Team Columbia again taking honours, this time with Gerard Ciolek. One person who hasn't been mentioned in our daily race reports, though he's been in the fray in each bunch sprint finish we've had is Erik Zabel - I love seeing 'Old Man' Zabel, at 38 years of age, still holding his own against these young whippersnappers from Columbia and Credit Agricole! Zabel is currently in 2nd place for the green jersey and has won it on more occasions than any other rider (6 times).

The standings at the end of Stage 19:
Yellow: Carlos Sastre (CSC)
Green: Oscar Freire (Rabobank)
Polka Dot: Bernard Kohl (Gerolsteiner)
White: Andy Schleck (CSC)
Team: CSC

And unfortunately, I have bad news about our favourite wimmer, Wim Vansevenant - he is no longer wimming! In a stunning display of coming-in-lastness, Bernard Eisel has taken over as our lanterne rouge. Hopefully, Wim can do something about this in tomorrow's time trial!

Team AG2R-Mondiale
Suzy is almost done with her Arrows stole and is now wondering about the border as there are a lot of picots around it.
Katie's Nether Garments are coming along fine. Aren't they colourful?

Kathy has finished her second Tour de France project, a Foliage. Doesn't it look warm?

Steph has finished her shorts after adding a few rows for length. Don't they look comfy?
I, Shirley, haven't been able to knit very much because of my wrists but I finally finished my first ear warmer. If I can get the second one done before it's cold enough to wear them, I'll be satisfied.
Team CSC - bringing the yellow home??
Sarah B. had a horrible trip to Canada and is still getting back on track. She has caught up on her tour watching and thinks her beret will be done by the time the boys get to Paris.
Lori is falling behind in her Pi Shawl progress AND her Tour watching, but she's been eating French food.
Rabobank have some victories to report! Behold Sandy's finished Market Squares bag:

And Beth's Baudelaire socks:

Alli has put in some intensive wilderness knitting on her cycling jersey and plans to finish for Paris, despite some ripping. Bells and Sarah are knitting hell-for-leather... at least Bells is now, and Sarah will be tonight after she acquires a final skein of yarn from the stash of a most obliging local knitter. Will they finish in time on Sunday? Tomorrow's time trial may be as fateful for the knitters of Team Rabobank as it will be for Carlos, Christian, and Cadel!

Team Quick Step Update...
Cue tumbleweed...
It is very quiet over here, I can only assume that those who have finished their projects, such as Lauren and Alli, are sat with their feet up enjoying the rest of the Tour in luxury, a nice glass of Bordeaux, Brie and Brioche while the rest of us are sweating profusely, churning out any energy we have left to get to that finish line!
Whitney has made it and finished her self designed Gansey (In 3 weeks - I must add!) and pulled all the stops out with her computer sketching:

Shelley says "Bells was right. Casting off a Pi takes forever. I will finish this!!!!!!"
You will Shelley, keep going!

Jessica sent me this message;
"I am trying to finish Ang, really, so am hoping that an all-nighter will be the answer!"
You can do it Jess!

Jennifer is pushing on through the Alps and finished her "Surprise Lace Project 1"

Shetland "Rose Lace", with a simple fagotting border on either side. She used Heirloom Knitting's CashSilk (70% cashmere, 30% silk) on 3mm needles*
Beautiful.

As for me, I'm doing ok and I may even have a finished product by the time I get to Paris.

Stage Eighteen: Bourg-d'Oisans > Saint-Etienne

2008-07-24T23:55:00.017+02:00

Today we leave the French Alps and the village of Bourg-d'Oisans for another intermediate stage, back to the Massif Central. Bourg-d'Oisans, at the base of L'Alpe d'Huez, offers tourists the chance to rent bicycles, ride to the top, and for 1 euro (according to wikipedia) you can receive a certificate of completion. I'm sure by now many of us feel as if we've been knitting up L'Alpe d'Huez!

St. Etienne is a huge bicycle manufacturing town. Notice those yellow vehicles of neutral support following the cyclists in the Tour? They're provided by Mavic, the company based in St. Etienne that manufactures bicycle wheels. Mavic supplies neutral support for major cycling races all over the world.

Team Columbia have again had a chance to shine, as Marcus Burghardt won today's stage, beating Team Quickstep's Carlos Barredo to the line. They attacked early in the race, working together until close to the end, leaving times pretty much the same for all those GC contenders in the pack. With Carlos Sastre of CSC still in the yellow jersey, everyone is now focused on Saturday's time trial (GO CADEL!). Hang in there, knitters -- you're almost to Paris!!

Yellow: Carlos Sastre (CSC)
Green: Oscar Freire (Rabobank)
PolkaDot/KOM: Bernard Kohl (Gerolsteiner)
White: Andy Schleck (CSC)
Team: CSC

Lantern Rouge: You know who

Final Intermediate Sprint

We all know the final sprint up the Champs-Elysees is one of the most exciting moments of any green jersey contender's life... in this final sprint, we're giving ALL the jersey categories the chance to experience the thrill of a great finish!

Give us a highlights package of your TDFKAL. What were your goals for the Tour and have you met them? Did you have some major stage wins? Are you going home with the yellow jersey (or other equally wearable item)? Or did you spectacularly crash into a labrador or run off the side of a mountain? Did your equipment break down mid-race, leaving you stranded on the side of the road waiting for the team car? We want the blow-by-blow account using your very best sportscaster voice, Franglais, and/or cycling metaphors! (The use of Phil and Paulisms is optional but looked on favourably!)

Now, we know that many of you are still racing against the clock to finish your projects by the 27th, which is why entries for this sprint will stay open until July 29th! Just enough time for the press photographers to snap your photo as you cross the finish line. The thrill of victory will not go unrewarded. The grand prix of the TDFKAL, awarded on the basis of a popular vote, will be a selection of Real French Tour de France Souvenirs collected for us in France by our very own Tour participant, Heather!!!

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post with a link to your entry by midnight, PARIS TIME, on 29th July. Bonne chance!

And on a related note - Don't forget to vote for Intermediate Sprint #2! Polls will remain open for just another 24 hours!!

Team Lampre update: Stacey is working away at the gull lace on the February Lady Sweater...photos at a later date as she is busy drooling over some new hand dyed yarn.

Look at the storm of WIPs Donni has been finishing up, all lovely indeed: The Stash cowl of her own soon-to-be-available design; the Lina mini-cable hat; and the Moebius in her own handspun yarn (Pssst....Donni - those are my colors!).Donna is thiiiiiis close to finishing Tempest - just the seaming remains.Our poor Ann has not had a happy Tour. Turns out the Brea Bag is not her cup of tea, especially using a linen yarn that is not pleasant to work with. In my book if it ain't fun, it ain't worth the knitting!

And still in yellow, Team CSC:

CathyAnn is done one sleeve and working on the other. She still hasn't dealt with the sizing of the peplum issue, but will readdress that when she's done the sleeves.(and it sounds like CathyAnn has a little crush on the Schleck brothers...anyone else??)

And I'm DONE!! My February Lady sweater was completed just as I watched the primetime coverage of the climb up Alpe d'Huez. I will block it tonight and have pics to unveil on the weekend.

Team Liquigas is plunging on ahead as its members complete their projects in good time. Amy's socks are done and looking wonderful.

Nancy has been a busy knitter, and her stole is not only finished, but blocked as well.

Gemma reports that she has finishe the left front and back of her minimalist cardigan and one Spring Forward sock. She has, however, "completed over 150 hours of PhD data entry and nearly finished a chapter draft! Which explains my poor show!" You're doing a good job, Gemma, keep up the good work!

And me, you ask? How are my green monkeys coming along? Um. Well.... They're.... coming? I've been quite distracted by work, other sewing projects, and life in general. I am almost at the toe of sock 1 (which is a slow, sad shame for me) and I promise pictures when this sock is done! Now, I should probably go update my blog. Hmm...

The lowdown on the highlights from Camp Credit Agricole

Pas beaucoup de belement from the flying sheep tonight - we're too busy knitting.

Look at Lyn's mountain of Montparnasse - if she could have back all the knitting she's unravelled she'd be done and dusted by now. Sterling effort Lyn!
Rachel, who has turned out to be the engine room of the team just keeps going with that knitting. Lovely back view of her enviably even ribbing today - my compliments Rachel - I hate doing the ribbing! I don't mind admitting I nearly pitched over my handlebars when I saw Gina's latest progress report - I had no idea it was so BIG until she included herself in the photo - that's acres of crochet! I am truly impressed.
Our team paparazza, Marci has brought us another scoop today. Look - team bus with gilet!!!

And who's that bloke in the yellow?
Helen's Bellini, renamed the Bon Chance has been making v bon progress. Helen is on her favourite bit - the sewing up - we feel your pain Helen but it will be worth it when you wear it for the final sprint.As for me, I've now broken through the 100 row mark on Le Germolene so every extra row's a bonus! Happy days!

Stage Seventeen: Embrun > L’Alpe-d’Huez

2008-07-23T23:55:00.007+02:00

There is only one word needed to describe today's stage: legendary. Since 1976, the Alpe d'Huez has been the scene of a stage finish nearly every year. It holds such a place in Tour cycling history that each of the 21 hairpin bends on the 13.8km climb is marked with a plaque honouring one of the past stage winners at Alpe d'Huez. (When Lance Armstrong won the stage for the 22nd time it finished at Alpe d'Huez, they started over again at the bottom!) (And spare a thought for those poor guys who rode the 1979 Tour - they had two finishes at Alpe d'Huez!)

For winter sports buffs, Alpe d'Huez is famous as a ski station, one of the largest in the world with 84 ski lifts and 236km of piste.

Is Team CSC unstoppable or what! Andy Schleck's pace making has been just amazing in the mountains - but it was his teammate Carlos Sastre who pulled off a strong stage win today - gaining the yellow jersey and more than one minute over his closest rivals, Frank Schleck, Bernard Kohl, and Cadel Evans. We now wait with bated breath for the time trial in Stage 20!

The standings after Stage 17:
Yellow: Carlos Sastre (CSC)
Green: Oscar Freire (Rabobank)
Polka Dot: Bernhard Kohl (Gerolsteiner)
White: Andy Schleck (CSC)
Team: Team CSC

Important reminder! Don't forget to cast your vote for the 2nd Intermediate Sprint! I can tell you that it is NECK AND NECK between two of our shortlisted entries so be sure to have your say!

And now for an update from your teams...

Team Rabobank is panting for breath after today's tough stage. Bells has two beautiful sleeves finished, but knows it's going to be a fight to make it across the line in Paris.

Sarah has pulled a John-Lee Augustyn and face-planted right off the mountainside, losing her bicycle down the scree. She's waiting by the road for the team car to bring up another skein of yarn, which may or may not need to be bleached to look anything like the first skein. But a contender always has another project in the bag, so today she finished an Armenian-knit rooster hat based on the work of French textile and ceramics artist Jean Leurçat:

More details and pictures on her blog. The rest of the team has gone quiet - they must all be knitting too hard to check in. I expect to see smoke signals rising from your needles, ladies!

Team Quick Step Update
Everyone must be kniting hard as it's gone a little quiet here.
Jessica has posted her Intermediate Sprint #2 on regional food, drool over this!

Check out her blog to see a recipe for Tarte Flambe, or Alsatian Onion Tart.

More yummy goodness from Madalyn who has done a bit more research into how her ratatouille is made:

Marge is on the home stretch on one of the socks, she says:
"The tour and peleton wait for no one". You're right there Marge!

Shelley reported in with this: "Finished the lacework last night during that exciting finish - onto the border… hoping to be using the blanket to snuggle under while watching the sprint finish in Paris…!" YAY!

This maybe the last pic we see of Whitney's stunning Gansey.

Her camera broke yesterday and she isn't sure how she'll keep us up to date. You'll work it out Whitney, as you said "C’est la vie, I suppose. If John-Lee Augustyn can go tumbling over the edge of a mountain, lose his bike, wait forever to be brought a new one, and still go on the attack today, then I can manage this setback, too".

As for me, I'm feeling a little more confident with my lace now, just hoping I don't fall off my bike inches from the finish line!

Keep knitting girls, we're nearly there!

Over at Team SIL we are busy keeping on our toes.

Tam (rav name Merlot) is on the second sleeve of Beatrix and should be done by Sunday "as long as the pieces dry in time!" Rosered is on tier 11 of Lady Eleanor. It looks so beautiful and soft. She is afraid she'll be the Lantern Rouge. I told her she has no worries on that score. I may have to steal it from her as I lag behind on my Adamas shawl! Megan reports that while Stolen Moments is slowly growing, the BSJ is moving ahead much more quickly. Beautiful in blues and yellows. Ozknitter admits to "more watching than knitting" but is making progress on her socks. Jennifer has been re-"cycling" yarn from thrift store sweaters and is designing her own. She is happier with this project than the ill-fated Swallowtail shawl. Amy is making good progress on the "socks of doom" which were more portable and easier to take to a golf match. Sprout is also coming along nicely. And our Kelli has been too busy making baby quilts for friends and playing slowpitch softball to do much knitting.

The end is in sight.

Stage Sixteen: Cuneo > Jausiers

2008-07-22T23:55:00.013+02:00

Grueling. Brutal. Those are the only fitting words for today's stage. My official TdF Guide says: "the riders face one of the most intense stretches of climbing in Tour history. After crossing the Demonte river and turning left in the little Italian village of Pratolungo, they face 11,000 feet of uphill work in the following 82km over two of the toughest hors categorie mountain passes in Europe." Yikes.

Our two mountains of torture included 1)the Col de la Lombarde (up to 13% grade in some parts -- the Tour has never crossed here before) and 2) the Cime de la Bonette (avg. 6.2 % for 26.7 km, enough to make anyone abandon!). Thankfully for most riders, there was a downhill finish to Jausiers, if they didn't crash first (poor Christian Vande Velde). And in the "but wait, there's more!" category, tomorrow brings us the revered and dreaded L'Alpe d'Huez. It wouldn't feel like the tour without it.

A little local culture: Cuneo, Italy is the hometown of Michele Ferrero, owner of Ferrero SpA, as in Ferrero Roche, Mon Cheri, and Nutella chocolate. Here's hoping there are samples of those in the riders' musette bags!!

Jausiers is a tiny French town of less than 1,000 inhabitants. According to the official Tour website, many of its citizens were sent to Louisiana, USA, and Mexico as early as the 19th century, where they made their fortunes and then came home to France to enjoy them. Located in a national park, it is noted for its clear air and water, which inspires every kind of outdoor sport and activity.

Race Report: Cyril Dessel did our Ag2R-La Mondiale team proud today, by winning Stage 16. Team CSC protected Frank Schleck's yellow jersey, with Bernard Kohl in second place, and CADEL in third, trailing by only 8 seconds. John-Lee Augustyn took a nasty turn in the gravel, and his bike went down the side of the mountain. Thankfully, he clambered back up to watch the race until his bike was replaced. Christian Vande Velde also crashed on the descent, and fell to sixth place.

Yellow: Frank Schleck (CSC)

Green: Oscar Freire (Team Ribby Man, I mean, Rabobank)

Polka Dot: Bernard Kohl (Gerolsteiner)

White: Andy Schleck (CSC)

Team: CSC

Lantern Rouge: In 151st place, Wim Vansevenant (Silence Lotto)

And now, an update from Meg on our Intermediate Sprint Competitions:

We had so much fun reading all the entries in the 2nd Intermediate Sprint! Special honourable mentions go to Mel T, Angie, Kristen, and SlothKnits - we are spoiled for choice with all the great places you have taken us to visit! Where will my next holiday be to?!!? And your finalists are [drumroll please...]

Ina's trip to the farmer's market (and check out that organic produce seller!)
Martha's tour of DC (help save her bike trail which is under threat!)
Caffeine Faerie's French Onion Soup (don't miss Step 10!)
Whitney's Tour de Gansey (the thesis continues!)
Cathy Ann's cycle tour of the Ohio wine country (it might not be France but yes, Ohio does have a wine country!)
Cristina61's Beauty in Your Own Backyard (her area promises to be bombarded by the masses with a description like this!)

Vote below for your favourite! Voting will close at midnight PARIS TIME on 25th July (the day of Stage 19), so what are you waiting for?!?? Clickez-vous!

Vote here for your favourite Regional Challenge Intermediate Sprint entry! ( surveys)

And what are these intermediate sprinters sprinting for you ask? "Tell them what they'll win, Bob!"

The talented Katie from Live2Knit Luxury Hand-dyed Yarns has set aside two special Tour de France yarns for us and the winners of each intermediate sprint will win one skein of her specialty yarn!!
Mae Bamboo in Sea Glass (though Katie suggests we rename it Loire Valley Green)

Shirley DK Merino in Lava (though again Katie cleverly suggests this be renamed Devil Red)

Please be sure to stop by Katie's shop and say Merci! for providing us with such lovely prizes!

And now for some team updates...

The gang from TEAM GARMIN-CHIPOTLE really took a rest day. I could only find info for a few members.

Kira thinks she has been dropped from l’arriere du peloton too because she accidentally left her knitting behind at her cousin’s house interstate when we visited on the weekend. It will take several valuable knitting days to get it back. She thinks this is the end of her Maillot Vert dreams.

Heather says she feels her chain is about to come off.... she’s down to very little yarn and am not done with the sleeves, much less the collar. A desperate message was sent to a friend in Munich who may be able to help out. Her sprinting days of 2008 are almost over. She might have to look for a similar weight in another color to redo the shoulders and collar (and add a tiny boarder to the hem and cuffs). after she gets over her depression, that is. Good thing cold weather is still hard to imagine.

Bridget merely sent a picture of a thermometer and the words “too darn hot”. Enough said!

Jane's NDDG is coming along great guns and she is just doing the collar as she finished the front on Monday night. She is not sure if she will have enough yarn and thought sheI would join the back and front first, knit the collar, and then knit both of the sleeves at the same time. If she run"s out of yarn so be it, so she says

My body is falling apart and my chiropractor is working me over. The only problem seems to be trying to knit while icing a shoulder with tendonitis, and the elbow and wrist that follow. SO progress has slowed but the road beckons. I actually had my bike out.

Team CSC - Still in Yellow...

Ina has some gorgeous pics on her blog of her local farmer's market in her Intermediate Sprint #2 entry. Sadly, no pictures of the sexy hot organic produce man...

No update on Judy's little nightie, but she must be feeling better because she's started more than one project over the last couple of days.

EnnaVic has figured out that if she rolls her brim on her tam it looks better, although not quite as cozy warm.

Sarah's lace sweater is giving her grief (at least her yarn-overs are) but she's completed the front and is moving on to the back.

And I'm on my last sleeve of the February Lady Sweater. I'll be project-free by the time we hit the Champs.

Team Lampre update: It appears that, while members are still knitting, many have been sidetracked by projects other than their KAL's, not to mention a slew of other activities and distractions. In between gardening, polo watching, and concocting delicious fruity desserts, Sarah has managed to make progress on the front of the Getaway Jacket.

Cindy has dealt with the threat of jury duty, a round of appointments, and the lure of starting in on some gorgeous socks, so there has not been a whole lot of Stargate Cardi knitting - though the cute handmade doggie stitch marker offers incentive.

Donna's Tour has been interrupted by the siren song of new yarns at her LYS, including Jamieson's Spindrift and Noro. Not to worry, she has finished the first sleeve (one to go!) and deserves a rest day.

After finishing the first item on her long KAL finish-the-WIPs list, (the pink and green socks), Natalie has been crazy busy with spinning, weaving, and tending to her online store. Wonder what she will finish next?

Team Rabobank:

Sarah is back from Knitting Camp all fired up with fresh enthusiasm for the craft, if nursing a pair of rather sore hands from so much intensive knitting! She is very close to having her other French-related project finished to show off (pictures tomorrow for Alpe d'Huez, perhaps?), and she's reached the red kite for the summit of the project - a tubular cast off is just around the bend, and then a bit of sleeve action. Her green jersey hopes are high, although she's hitting a serious yarn shortage and will have to spend the afternoon scouring the city for a similar yellow laceweight.

Here's the back of Bells's beautiful eyelet cardi:

(Looks like a marble pastry roller in the background - very appropriate!) And check out Sandy's freshly felted Market Squares bag:

If I were Sandy, I'd have a hard time attending to the finishing details with this great loot on hand from our Team Time Trial victory:

Cleckheaton Country Silk...mmmm. Maybe she can cast it on while the bag is drying. Speaking of bags, have a look at Erika's Rabobank bag/rasta hat:

And Kate seems to have been too busy (or too modest) serving as Team Captain to share the evidence of her own imminent triumph in the Green Jersey category:

All the knitting on her Ondulation tunic is complete - a bit of edging, a few buttons, and she'll be stepping onto the podium! Go Rabobank!

Rest Day

2008-07-21T23:55:00.011+02:00

Once again, it might be a rest day for the cyclists but the knitters are forging ahead! There are some really exciting things happening in the knitting peloton - read all about it here with your team updates!

Team FDJ Update:

Things have been a bit quiet here at Team FDJ these last couple of days. A lot of our team have been away for the weekend, myself included. I took a quick break to the Blue Mountains (west of Sydney) and did manage to get in some TDF knitting time. My first Baudelaire sock now has a heel.
Lynn however has finished the shrug she was making, and is now onto the Indian Summer Socks. Despite some mountainous terrain, having to reknit the cuff a few times, she's now speeding down the other side of the Alps.
Helen has some progress on her I Do Shrug, and is going for the sprint to finish the other side in the remaining week of le Tour:
Janine has decided to add one or two repeats to her Clapotis, which will involve another trip to the yarn shop for the 7th ball. As she states, "Oh no! More yarn shopping! The horror!" (or is that quelle horreur!).
See you on the other side of the Alps!

Team CSC:

We're carrying the yellow jersey!! WOO HOO.

Jacqueline is doing well with her "Gather Robbie into my Pullover". I think maybe Robbie needs a hug or two, given he's ghastly performance so far. I'm sure Jacqueline would be more than happy to help with this!!CathyAnn's cardigan is having a rest day as it's too hot to be working on it. Instead she's started a Cat 1 climb (toe-up Cat Bordhi socks from New Pathways) - sounds more like a HC climb to me!!

EnnaVic's tam is done. Although, she's not sure she loves it. What do you guys think??

Elisa (who has multiple TdF goals) started her #3 project - a BSJ, as she complete her first goal...
Christina is about 80% done her Upstairs shawl and almost half-way done her Kimono shawl. She her lovely collage (and being British the big pic of Cavendish from http://www.cyclingfans.com/).And Judy is having hip twitches thanks to the Bacardi Mojito commercial that she sees ad nauseum with the Versus coverage!! Click at your own risk.

Team AG2R-Mondiale
Jen has accomplished her Tour goal of finishing a carseat blanket and monkey socks as gifts and knitting the Capelet and the Ribbed Lace Bolero. Next she'll be starting on the February Lady Sweater. Way to go Jen!

Shock! Horror! Outrage! Drunken revelry at Camp Credit Agricole

Well it looks like a good shearing was exactly what we needed here at the sign of the flying sheep. Not only did our cycling team mate Simon Gerrans take a stage win but we had a knitting team win in the intermediate sprint. Thanks to everyone who voted - it was just what I needed to spur me on after my rather lacklustre performance in the middle week - 95 rows under my belt and still going for it!

The rest of the team are in similar spirits. Lyn has felt the return of her puff and has finished the back and 13cm on the final sleeve - she's planning a big collar finish!

Kit has made a welcome return to the peleton and is making good progress on her Baby surprise jacket despite some 'technical adjustments'.

Gina isn't wasting any time and has sewn together her three finished squares while waiting for her yarn to arrive tomorrow.

Carolyn , the tactician of the team is cleverly using the rest day for some light conditioning, tackling the decreases on the front of her Breton Girl in anticipation of the long hard increases to come.

Once again, despite our hangovers from celebrating our success, another performance showing the strength and depth of our squad. Allez lez Moutons!

Team Quick Step Update
Jennifer has back tracked and gone back to the Monet bag.

she says she is test driving a few more colour combinations, "this time mohair doubled, rather than a blend of 4ply wool and 8 ply mohair".

Well done to Lauren who has finished "Thermal"

pattern: Thermal (Ravelry pattern link) from Knitty Winter 2006, size B (with ribbing unstretched it’s about 32″ around, but after a wash it should relax some)
yarn: less than 4 skeins of Araucania Ranco Solid in Teal
needles: 24″ 2.5mm Addi Turbo and INOX 2.25mm dpns for sleeves

It's good to see Madalyn's smiling face...

Who's racing on with "Le châle chaleureux". Go see her blog for a poem about Aubergine's (and her Intermediate Sprint #2)

Another great finish for Team Quick Stitch! Yay! Marge has finished her FairIsle Cardigan, all blocked and ready to go.

Shelley is cooking up Onion Soup for her Intermediate Sprint #2

Bon Appétite indeed!

Whitney says "It may be a rest day for the cyclists, but for those of us crazy enough to try to knit an adult-sized gansey in three weeks, there is no rest to be had. I’m making good progress though; enough that it’s time to share…"

"Think I can do it all before the cyclists have their little romp around the Champs-Élysées?"
Sure you can Whitney!

As for me, well we've had a good few days of sun, and trust me that's rare for Wales, so I've been knitting "dans le jardin"

TEAM COLUMBIA
Morgan chef d'equipe finished the race ahead of schedule. Pictures however are stuck on the camera. She has made it her new goal to get it off of the camera and blogged about!

Christine is worried about the silk she is using and how it will behave after it is washed. Also she had to say this "For what must be the sixth time I’ve transferred all of my stitches onto waste yarn so I can be sure that my Simple Knitted Bodice is going in the proper direction(s). It is a little bit tedious to keep doing this, but to my mind it’s well worth the trouble. I’ve been able to see before going too far that I had needed to decrease my stitch count or shorten the torso."

Mari is still on vacation. When asked she stated "Some Tour knitting got done, but unfortunately not as much as I would have liked. There will be some definite uphill knitting tomorrow. It is going to be a long mountain stage."

Kathy has completed the race!

Devorah is throwing a little contest over at her blog as a challenge for the course. Check it out.

Lyn stated when interviewed "Rather too many false starts and detours, time is running out. Still sticking to the entrelac theme, but a change of yarn and pattern. Think this will have to be a stole rather than a scarf …"

Jo had lots to say. "Well I fell off my bike on Saturday… must have been a steep hill….

Glancing down the lace admiring how pretty it was I noticed a slight mistake on the edging… where a wrap over had twisted the wrong way… not a problem.. I tinked the 4 rows back and corrected..

but then… in the main pattern…. identically. symetrically opposite each other.. I spotted another mistake…. Over two rows… I’d done another errror… missed a yarn over and a decrease….

It was the same both sides so matched.. but I knew it was there…. and a good 25 rows back from where I was…

so do I rip it back or ignore it… knowing I’m the only one that knows it’s there, and as I’ve done it the same (no idea how!! - I even checked the pattern in case it was a misprint!!)… I decided to put it to one side and look again later…

(OH then surprised me by taking me away for the weekend!)… so in a calm and rational mood I picked it up again last night…..

and ripped it back!!!! I knew i wouldn’t have been happy and it would have kept calling me…

Feel much better, and knitted back half of what I’d frogged - so a good recovery and nearly caught up with the rest of the peleton!!"

Martha was very truthful when interviewed "As a member of the Tour de France KAL, I am way behind. I'm lagging in both my project (the second one cast on) and in reading the blog entries of other participants. However, I have not given up. Yesterday and today, I have been knitting like a sprinter. Today, I made a personal commitment to the second intermediate sprint competition."

Barbara is racing ahead to the finish line! "I had been persistent and am just about to the point of separating for the placket of the sweater!"

Stage Fifteen: Embrun > Prato Nevoso

2008-07-20T23:55:00.003+02:00

Welcome to the first of three days in the high mountains of the Alps! Today brings us many firsts, bests, and other superlatives. Both Enbrun and Prato Nevoso are hosting the Tour for the first time ever...today's first mountain climb, the hors categorie Col Agnol, at 2744m, is the highest international pass in the Alps (it connects France and Italy), and the third-highest paved road pass in the Alps overall...the Tour goes over this pass for the first time ever in 2008!

The Category 3 climb of the Collo del Morte sounds scary but I'm sure will pale in comparison with the 11km Category 1 climb to the finish at the ski town of Prato Nevoso. Any riders with any energy left might care to check out the town's Snowboard Museum...

Team CSC dominated the tactics in the fight for the yellow jersey today, with strong pace making that left Cadel Evans jersey-less at the end of the stage. Not only has CSC gotten their man, Frank Schleck, into yellow, Carlos Sastre 'rode himself back into the race' (to borrow a Phil and Paulism) - at 6th place overall but less than a minute behind his teammate, Sastre is still one to watch! Today's stage blew the Tour wide open, with no less than five riders less than a minute behind Schleck.

Even though Cadel's no longer in yellow, Australians still have something to celebrate with Simon Gerrans winning his first stage in four Tours de France. He was part of a four man breakaway early on, was briefly dropped by the breakaway, and - despite being pitted against better-acknowledged mountain climbing specialists - managed a great attack just at one of the final bends on the summit finish to snatch the stage win. And boy did he look happy crossing that finish line!

The standings after Stage 15:
Yellow: Frank Schleck (CSC)
Green: Oscar Freire (Rabobank)
Polka Dot: Bernhard Kohl (Gerolsteiner)
White: Vincenzo Nibale (Liquigas)
Team: Team CSC

And a reminder - you have just 24 hours to enter the 2nd intermediate sprint!

Team Rabobank:
Well, we're excited! Go Oscar Freire - woot!! (And from the Aussies on this team: Cadel, we know you can do it - you can get the yellow back again!)
Alli's excited - she is just back from a remote fishing trip/knitting retreat, and says she is "this close" to finishing - bring it on! Erika has been experimenting with new recipes to catch something of the flavour of the Tour - timing her risotto perfectly to match the Tour's entry into Italy. Bells has been spreading the love of all things food and fibre unto the next generation (go and reassure her that all 7yr olds are like that). Bethgirl (Rav) has nearly finished the heel of her second Baudelaire - and you know it is all about la descente after that! Our glorious leader Sarah should be back from knitting camp very soon, and we're all dying to see what she did while she was there, and Maria has been finding some entertaining ways to escape the pressure of it all. I've got plans to crochet pretty edges around my Ondulation Tunique (wish me luck), but yesterday these were delayed by a bit of Calorimetric action last night, resulting in me modelling it in front of the Tour-on-tele at midnight (look if you dare).
Sunday is approaching with ever-increasing swiftness - may your needles fly, your wheels spin, and may you avoid the ghastly tangles of outrageous fortune as we set our sights on Paris!

Stage Fourteen: Nimes > Digne-les-Bains

2008-07-19T23:55:00.011+02:00

Nimes always reminds me of Hercule Poirot, though I can't find which mystery is set there. If anyone knows, please share in the comments!

Digne-les-Bains is noted for those beautiful lavender fields, and Victor Hugo's Les Miserables begins in Digne (wikipedia). It is also a thermal spa, and the former home of Alexandra David Neel, an explorer and writer.

Very Quick Race Report: As the teams headed towards the Alps, Oscar Freire took advantage of one of the last flat stages and won the sprint. Cadel Evans still holds on to the yellow jersey, as the Tour heads into Italy for a mountain top finish tomorrow. Mark Cavendish, British Sprinter Extraordinaire, is likely headed home to rest and prepare for the Olympics.

Yellow: Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto)
Green: Oscar Freire (Rabobank)
Polka Dot: Sebastian Lang (Gerolsteiner)
White: Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas)
Team: CSC

Lantern Rouge: You Know Who, moved up to 157th place

The winner of our KAL intermediate sprint is Jane, Team Leader of Credit Agricole (Thor needs to get some pointers from her on the sprints!). Jane has won a skein of made-for-us DK weight yarn from Katie at Live 2 Knit, in her choice of colors, a red or green. [ed note: I am racing to get this post up, so I'll provide links to the yarns later on]. Felicitations Jane!!!

Team CSC:
Judy's injury has definitely slowed her down, but she's hanging on (she suggests as a Lanterne Rouge) and making progress. But now she's concerned about running out of yarn...it might go from a little nightie to a little tank top. Either way it'll be sassy!
EnnaVic had some frogging of the "cursed" tam, but has now officially finished her project. The bad part, she thinks the finished hat is not flattering to her face! Hopefully we can see for ourselves with pictures tomorrow.
I'm done the body of my Lady Sweater and need to find some 5mm DPNs to finish the arms. We're 2/3 into the race, and I think I'm 2/3 of the way done!

From Team Garmin-Chipotle:
My heart was in my throat the last few yards. I was so hopeful that Julian Dean could pull it off. Fourth is not bad. Our team has made a very good start this Tour,
Thanks to the great coverage and photography of the various historic buildings and gorgeous countryside, Jane has almost convinced her other half that theyshould start saving in earnest for their own holiday to the France… Whoo Hoo

If we are Whoo Hooing in France I will have to get my other half on the train, also.

Rosemary's Maillot Dentelle is 40% complete, with all of the back and most of one front done. She points out that the commentators keep missing VdV despite his brilliant riding until the GC listings come up. We are just coming to the ALPS Rosemary and hope is on the road!

Kira has flown from Hobart, Tasmania over to Victoria for the Bendigo Sheep and Wool show. Hopefully we will have pictures when she returns.

Norma is hurrying to get her knitting done while it is winter in Queensland. She tends to knit for friends/family further south where it is colder. Apparently there are only SO many woolies you can wear in Queensland. Sounds divine!

From Anne comes the words “One down, One to go!” And here is the proof. Go Anne, it looks beautiful.
I am sorry to report that 1776 has design problems and has retired from the Tour. An Austerman sock yarn has voluntered to replace it and it is cruising along.

Team AG2R-Mondiale
Katie is up to the knee on the first leg of her nether garments and the varying widths is doing interesting things to the varigated yarn.
Paisley has finished her second sprint which is a Jacques Cousteau Chapeau/pipo/hat. (Am I the only one in the KAL that can read the Cousteau hat pattern in its original language?) It had a decrease that she hadn't used before - a KKS. Now she's working on her real project – a Clapotis.
Jen has finished the ribbed lace bolero and is back on track with her monkey socks.

Exclusive news from the mountain hideaway of Team Credit Agricole

Freewheeling along in the sunshine, don't you just love this time of year, the birdsong, the fresh mountain air...wait a minute.... who are those people behind us? What do you mean a race? This calls for decisive action. Shave our legs for maximum aerodynamics? Nah - we need decisive action - grab that shearer someone, the Flying Sheep are getting shorn!

I think it's fair to say that we have been a bit off the pace in this difficult middle week but have no fear, in our gleaming white close fitting livery we mean business in the final week of the Tour. Let's review the roster:

Lyn is now two thirds of the way up the back of her Montparnasse and feels like she's running out of puff . Come on Lyn, you've been our anchor sheep for the first part of the tour - perhaps being a few pounds lighter in the fleece will put a spring in your hooves!
On the other hand, where some are losing their wind, some have found their legs and are kicking for home - Sarah has now done 15 repeats of Le Rectangle - that's half the central panel! Tres impressive...

Rachel, another stalwart of the team is showing her character by making further progress on her Chanteuse Socks. She's on the second sock now so finishing should be a breeze!

Gina is taking a brief ride in the team car, waiting for her new yarn to arrive on the 21st. In the meantime, here is another of her scorching squares. With a couple of day' rest behind her, on 21st other teams will be eating Gina's dust as she sprints towards the finish!
Look at the shape of Carolyn's Breton Girl - how French is that? She is planning to pick up speed on the front - we'll be cheering you on, Carolyn.

Marci has finished her first sleeve. We are quietly confident about Marci.

As for me,I feel the Lanterne Rouge of my own team. According to my faithful lap counter I have clocked up 77 rows now, a pitiful three more than my last showing. However, thanks to my new haircut I will be showing the flock a clean pair of hooves.

Less of the belement, let's see more pedalment!

Allez les Moutons Volantes!

Team Lampre update: Two members reporting progress: Stacey is cruising along on her February Lady Sweater in swoon-worthy Dream in Color Classy in "Lagoon". She is contemplating the perfect go-with buttons.

Kristen is at the half-way point, having finished the back of the Hand in Hand vest. On to the front!

Team SIL is cycling along with one member finishing an entire sweater and working on another!

Melanie has finished her Molly Ringwald and is starting a new sweater project. She is making the bed jacket from Knitting Lingerie Style. This provides her with two new challenges: short rows and the dreaded crochet! I'd bet (if it weren't illegal to bet on sporting events here in the US) she'll finish!

Joline shares this photo of her Lady Sweater. It fits the bill for summer knitting. Interesting and lacey. She is loving it but has been busy lately....

Megan checked in to show off the progress on her Stolen Moments shawl. It's "long, like the Tour is long" and enough to keep her busy but also a little boring. So, she's going to make a Baby Surprise Jacket just for fun.

Rosered is on tier 9 of her Lady Eleanor and while she won't finish by the end of the Tour, she has "totally got the hang of this entrelac business".

I am thrilled to be finished repeat number 9 of my shawl and will hopefully forge onward over the weekend.

The weather here is unbearable this weekend and keeping up the motivation is a real challenge.

Kate here, checking in for Team Liquigas! I have to admit, I have been remiss in my knitting, especially as I am a Green Jersey contender. However, I have a valid excuse--er, reason. Otakon is in a little under three weeks and I have costumes to work on! Lots of sewing means less knitting. I'm out on pictures, too. I swear I'll have some soon, though!
Rosemary has finished her Montparnasse, and it's lovely, despite having to add shoulder gussets. She's started her Notre Dame de Grace pullover, but pictures are delayed by packing for camping.
Nancy has had a bit of a knitting vacation due to houseguests, but she's picked up her needles with a little less than 30 edging repeats left. Here's to hoping she'll finish this weekend!
Tanya is cruising along on her clapotis, and even has two other pairs of socks otn. Also, an adorable little girl.
Amyenjoyed a nice day at the beach with many wise questions and comments from her son (where do waves go when they stop being waves?) and after quite a contemplative time came home to yarn-y and chocolatey goodness through the mail. Now that's an ideal day off.

Stage Thirteen: Narbonne > Nîmes

2008-07-18T23:55:00.014+02:00

It's another day for the sprinters as Stage 13 travels near the Mediterranean coastline from Narbonne to the Roman city of Nîmes, where ancient architecture contrasts with the modern architecture in the city centre, including works by some of our most pre-eminent contemporary architects such as Sir Norman Foster. However, the most relevant interesting tidbit about Nîmes for our purposes is that it is well known for its textiles - a fact which is reflected in the name given to one of its specialty fabrics: Serge de Nîmes,
better known nowadays as denim!

Take a bow Team Columbia! Your unstoppable Mark Cavendish, dubbed by some as "the new Robbie McEwan", nosed ahead of Robbie McEwan (now, sadly, dubbed "the old Robbie McEwan"?) to win the bunch sprint in Nimes in clinical fashion, though coming from a boxed-in, unwinnable-looking position 300m from the finish line.

Cavendish is quoted as saying of today's finish, "I put in another kick with about 100 to go in case I died. I didn't die and I was able to hold on so I'm pleased." Goodness me, I'm pleased he didn't die as well! And I'm sure the UK Olympic authorities are also quite pleased. Apparently Cavendish has been under pressure to leave the Tour to go rest and prepare for the Olympics, which begin in Beijing on 8th August. There are whispers that Cavendish may in fact leave the Tour in the next day or so as we head into les Alpes - where the opportunities for sprinters will dry up. Time will tell - but personally I think it'd be great to see him ride into Paris on July 27th!

Gerolsteiner's Sven Krauss had probably the most spectacular crash we've seen this year. While he walked away unscathed, his bike was carried off the road broken in half!

The standings after Stage 13:
Yellow: Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto)
Green: Oscar Freire (Rabobank)
Polka Dot: Sebastian Lang (Gerolsteiner)
White: Vincenzo Nibale (Liquigas)
Team: Team CSC

Reminder: There are just two days left to enter the 2nd Intermediate Sprint!

Team AG2R-Mondiale
Steph has changed her project and is now working a UFO that's over a year old. There's still time to wear the shorts this summer if she finishes them by the end of the Tour.

Team Lampre update: After much debate over how to deal with running out of yarn, Natalie had a happy ending with her pink and green socks, going for a sassy stripe.Donna is so close to finishing Tempest: "Whoopee! Still riding well. Though I must admit to some exhaustion. I am not usually so committed to a single project. But the linen on the Addis is superfast. Fronts done. Back done. On to the sleeves. Three cheers for people who design three-quarters length sleeves for fast knitting (and a cute look)."Team CSC:

CathyAnn has taught herself magic loop and these seems to be working better for her sleeves on the cardigan. She still isn't sure about the fit of the peplum but it's looking like it will have to be frogged somewhat...another mountain for her to climb!

Elisa is DONE. Her cardigan is complete except for buttons. Finishing pics coming soon.

Ina has been busy with tomatoes, bananas (in the form of socks) and other non-TdFKAL things!!

Team Rabobank:

With Oscar Freire sporting the Green Jersey, there is no excuse for us not to be steaming ahead on our TdF knitting – unless you are Maria, who just dashed off to GREECE for a massive Girl’s-Several-Nights-And-Days-Away-Somewhere-Utterly-Gorgeous Trip (are we jealous….yes!) (and check out the outfit-maker thingy she uses for her pic!)
And then there is our Team Captain Sarah, whiling away the weekend at Knitting Camp (oh yes, we’re jealous!!)

Although saddened by riders testing positive and withdrawals, knitting-wise, Sandy has crested the peak of her entrelac bag, and is starting the downhill run – she says she is a little over halfway done. She has also been working on a Spring Forward sock, and has some gratuitous yarn pr*n – be warned!

Bells is finding it hard to get through the peleton – she has finished the back of her sister’s cardigan, but those pesky sleeves have been spinning her in circles. However she has them on the straight and narrow again now and is picking up the pace.

MeganO (Rav) has been cycling and knitting (not simultaneously) but is now resting her hands before picking up the Eyelet Cardi again, bethgirl’s (Rav) project page says she is into the second Baudelaire, Lisa put up a tantalising plan of hexagons on her project page but is having too much fun to show us any more, and Erika has finished the stripes on her BYOBag, and is looking forward to the openwork section once she conquers the seed stitch stage!

As for me, some long days and splashes of housework have come between me and my TdF Ondulation tunic, so I have been finding a little relief in the twisty cables of my Rattlesnake Creek sock – but it is Saturday, and there will be daylight knitting and testing on the recipient, so stay tuned!

And to make up for the lack of knitting pics, here is Ribby Man cheering our team on for glory!

Team Quick Step Update
Gretchen is pedaling along with her French Market bag.

and is so pleased with this one, she's making Market bags for everyone! Ok, just her children then.
Madalyn has come to the decision that her Lucy Shawl was a bit too challenging and has found a new lace project that she feels she'll get on with.
Le Chale Chaleureux
Good luck Madalyn
Whitney is learning about her region for the Intermediate Sprint #2, the post is coming soon and if you want to know a little bit about where I'm (Angie) from and my town's big secret, go see my blog.

Stage Twelve: Lavelanet > Narbonne

2008-07-17T23:55:00.013+02:00

Today's stage brings us to Lavelanet, a town whose name comes from the Latinish word "avelana," or hazelnut, according to the official TdF website. The town used to be surrounded by hazelnut trees -- if you are hitting the local cafe today, some hazelnut coffee might be in order, in honor of Lavelanet! It is also known for clothing manufacture.

Our end stage is Narbonne, near the Mediterranean Sea. Narbonne was built on the Via Domicia, the first Roman road in France, and near the Aude River. The Canal de la Robine was built, and connected to the Canal du Midi, also known as the Royal Canal, in 1787. This canal provided a shortcut to the Mediterranean Sea. Though the Canal closed in 1989, it is a UNESCO world heritage site. Its name is near and dear to sock knitters, for the pattern for Nancy Bush's Canal du Midi socks were published in her book, Knitting on the Road. Narbonne is also known for its winemaking.

Race Report: The Cobra was bit back today, when Riccardo Ricco tested positive for a new version of EPO. He and his team Saunier Duval, have officially left the Tour. How incredibly sad.

On a happier note, Mark Cavendish (Columbia) won the sprint and today's stage. Leaving the Pyrenees, riders raced on a mostly flat transitional stage today, giving the sprinters an opportunity to shine. Our GC contenders stayed the same, which means Cadel is still wearing the yellow jersey! Good times.

Standings:

Yellow: Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto)
Green: Oscar Freire (Rabobank)
Polka Dot/KOM: Sebastian Lang (Gerolsteiner)
White: Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas)
Team: CSC Saxo Bank!

Lantern Rouge: Wim Vansevenant (Silence-Lotto) holding steady at 158th place. How does he do it?? Especially with his team leader in the yellow jersey??

And now, our team updates!

Team FDJ News:

Well it's been a rather busy couple of days in the Pyrenees, followed by a rest. But no rest for the knitters of Team FDJ, we have been whizzing along with our projects!

Janine has completed the 13 repeats of the pattern in her Clapotis:
She's thinking about making it longer; any Clapotis experts who want to provide some advice, please feel free.
Sarah's Juno Regina stole has been growing steadily, especially during the flatter stages of Le Tour. She's hoping to get in a big chunk of knitting before we hit the Alps. It's looking gorgeous so far, n'est pas?

Also, Julia has made some amazing progress on her Entrelac Chaussettes:

Stacy is also coming along nicely with the Mon Cheri baby sweater, despite some slight mojo issues this week - let's cheer her on from the roadside!

As for myself, I'm going away for the weekend and am taking my Baudelaire socks with me. I've got a 2.5 train trip plus a lot of movie watching and general swanning around time. So I'm hoping to return with one completed sock, photographed and all!

Team CSC:

EnnaVic is taking an extended rest day, but looking forward to getting back to her sunflower tam. She figures 3 rounds a day on the Tam, and she'll hit the finish line flying! She is also celebrating a Kiwi win for NZ cyclist Hayden Roulston (he's a cutie) in the four-day Tour des Deux-Sevres in France a couple of days ago.

Elisa has made huge progress with her cardigan. She's finished the collar, bottom band and the left front button placket. With this an all the plying she's doing with her handspun, she'll be in need of another rest day soon!

I'm almost done the front of my Lady Sweater and hope to start the sleeves on the weekend.

Team AG2R-Mondiale

Jen has taken a detour to finish a ribbed lace bolero. She only has to bind off.

Gemma pinned out her shawl-in-progress and the tail is suddenly visible. The magic of lace!

TEAM COLUMBIA
Morgan chef d'equipe - has been working away on her Wicked. Worried about running out of yarn even though its not likely, she sent a frantic email to her supplier in hopes of finding the same lot. Also, she has conquered a hill by learning bust darts.

Christine has been busy splurging and shopping but has still found time to work on her skb. Progress is looking great!

Mari has gone on vacation to a wedding. Hopefully all the partying won't interfere too much with her TDF! Have fun Mari.

Jam_Mam is working on a beautiful lace shawl and has made some good progress on it.

Kathy's mobius capelet is growing in leaps and bounds. She will be taking a picture and getting input on length.

Devorah puts it best "Theoretically, I have been diligently working of my Tour de France socks. In reality, what was supposed to be a sprint has turned into a climb up the mountains. The mountains being real life."

Lyn has had two false starts. Here is hoping that third time's a charm!

Roxana was interviewed when she was hit hard ... " Road)

This Bastille Day shall go down in infamy…

I’ve been run over by the proverbial team bus. Today on our drive home from NY, I started thinking, hmm…now would be a good time to slip the sock on my foot and give it a go (don’t worry, I was in the passenger seat). Disaster. Far too small for my feet. It looks like a perfectly normal sized sock, but I think the problem is that I’m knitting it in cotton, on a size zero needle. No give whatsoever. Thought surely my eight year old could slip her foot in there and save the day. Nope. Grabbed the six year old. Impenetrable. How could this be??? It looks like an adult sized sock, but it lies, it lies!

I don’t know what I’m going to do now. I could frog it and start again, but I don’t trust this evil yarn. If I’m to continue, I think it’s going to have to be with something totally new and possibly not very French. So upsetting! I was having so much fun cheering on the team with my blue sock!"

Jo is motoring along and had this to say ... "Well.. After the wheels fell of my race at the start (not to mention the chain, and the saddle)… The bike is rebuilt and I’m back on course…

Had a great day yesterday.. the maps I’m following are really clear and easy to follow.. even if every turn is completely different to the previous one!!! No easy there and back on this route!!!"

Martha crashed and burned with her Polka Dot project and has changed it to Aleita Shell by Bonne Marie Burns. GO Martha!

Barbara was going to be starting the pocket. Let's hope the light helped her see against all that blackness.

Team Quick Step Update
It was good to see our men at the front of the peleton lately, and Team Quick Stitch aren't far behind...
Alli has finished her Cropped Cardigan!

She veered off course for a while, forgetting to make the same modifications she had made on the first sleeve, on the second but like a true pro, made it back to the front of the peleton and took the stage...maybe we should nickname Alli "The Cobra"?
Another to finish a project is Jennifer, who has completed this stage with a beautiful beret (wrong size or not).

Poor Madalyn is trying desperately to catch up but her Lucy Shawl is refusing to play nice!
Whitney, who has finished her shoulder straps is ready to knit down the sleeve.

Stage Eleven: Lannemezan > Foix

2008-07-16T23:55:00.013+02:00

After a well-deserved rest, the cyclists are back on the road today! The Tour is far from decided and far from over. What twists and turns will fate throw the riders in the next 10 stages?! Certainly today's route will take the riders through the twisting roads of the foothills of the Pyrenees, a route never before included in the Tour itinerary. The three towers of Castle Foix seen against the backdrop of the Pyrenees mountains will provide plenty of beautiful scenery for Paul and Phil to embellish their commentary!

Team CSC's Kurt-Asle Arvesen was part of the 12-man breakaway 20km into the stage and went on to win it - narrowly beating Lampre's Alessandra Ballan and AG2R's Martin Elmiger. Because no one in the breakaway group was a threat in the GC standings, the peloton (and mainly Team Silence-Lotto) let them go ahead without any response and as a result we have no change in the yellow jersey standings.

The standings after Stage 11:
Yellow: Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto)
Green: Oscar Freire (Rabobank)
Polka Dot: Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval-Scott)
White: Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval-Scott)
Team: Team CSC

Have you voted yet? If not, pop on over to the Rest Day and cast your vote for your favourite entry from our shortlisted Intermediate Sprint #1.

Once you've voted, it's time to start work on Intermediate Sprint #2! And here 'tis:

The Regional Challenge:
Every region and town in France seems to have its very own specialty wine, cheese, or produce that it is particularly well known for. One of the joys of the Tour de France is to discover the flavours which characterise each region. This week's intermediate sprint is all about regions:

France Option: Present us with a regional French specialty - have a wine or cheese tasting, cook a regional dish (here's some inspiration), or research a regional product such as perfume or fashion and tell us all about your findings!
Cycling Option: Get on your bike and show us something special about your own region where you live and cycle!
Knitting Option: Is your project inspired by or traditional to a particular region (whether French or not?) Investigate the origins of a technique or pattern you're using and tell us all about it! Note: entries need not let pesky facts get in the way of a good story!

This briefest of updates sadly brings my stint on the TdF KAL and blog to a close. It's been such fun getting to know you all :-)

Jusqu'à ce que nous rencontrions le gain

[The lovely Kate will now be giving us our Leaky-Gas updates - Ed.]

Team AG2R-Mondiale
Katie's up to the calf shaping in her Neither Garments and has already done stripes in the special tour colours. She also attended her first knit night where she did most of the knitting.
After knitting more 10 rows, Gemma started the wings on her dragon shawl. She may be on the look out for a pilgrim for a good photo opportunity.

And with the winner of today's stage....Team CSC:
A big Woo Hoo for our team with the stage win!
Lori truly enjoyed her rest day with no knitting on the Pi Shawl. Instead she drank wine and knit on another project. Maybe tomorrow she'll get back to the shawl.
We hope Sarah got all her frogging done on her lace sweater, and is back on the road to Paris.

Team Rabobank:

The rest day came just in time for poor Kate, who got walloped by her daughters' tummy bug. But like a true pro, Kate is indefatigable (she posted recipes for FOOD from her sickbed, which is an incomprehensible show of fortitude in my eyes) and was quickly back on her feet with needles in hand:

Ondulation is three-quarters done! (Kate asks that you pardon her iSight's resolution limitations.)

Erika offers her update in rhyme:

Ode to my progress on the BYOB bag

I decided to ditch
the pattern’s seed stitch
because it was being a…it was being difficult.

I frogged a few rows
and sighed, “I just knows
that one day I’ll reach those yo’s.”

(the ones in the middle of the bag, that is)

Anyway, I’m re-doing the stripes because 1) I think they’ll look crisper in stockinette, and 2) I felt like doing stockinette instead. Things should go faster now!

And as I predicted, Beth has a finished Baudelaire sock to flaunt:

Sandy is plugging away at her entrelac bag and has nearly reached the point where the diamonds get smaller, but meanwhile she's also finished a most intriguing secret project - I have to share the photo because it's so tantalizing and beautiful and she won't tell what it is:

But it looks an awful lot like a beautiful yoke sweater with stranded colorwork, and I can't resist those!

Sarah is about to pack up and take her yellow cardigan on the road, as she's attending Meg Swansen's Knitting Camp in Wisconsin. She's crossing her fingers that the Holiday Inn gets the Versus channel... otherwise she may be wandering the streets of Marshfield in search of a sports bar or a friendly native with cable! As of tomorrow, Kate will be taking the reins to guide the team up to the dizzy heights of Prato Nevoso and l'Alpe-d'Huez... Sarah will chime in as much as she can!

Team Lampre update: Things are veeeery quiet here. I guess team members did take advantage of the day of rest. Greeley ran into a little trouble with Manon: "The mountains did me in... Had to rip back to get gauge anew. Looking forward to the rest day. I think I can recover!"
And Jordan reports "I’ve been doing a lot of tour watching and only a little bit of knitting – yes, it’s like a tour rider saying “I’ve been on my bike but I’ve only been peddling every now and then”. But I did manage to frog several rows of my Juliet ‘Binoche’ sweater and redo them and now I actually have the correct number of stitches."

Team Quick Step Update.
Alli is storming ahead with her crop cardigan,

and possibly working too hard! Stop moving the furniture and stick to knitting!
Jennifer has begun her new project, the Parisenne Beret in a colour she's trying to convince us is French!

Oh and this beautiful...thing...sshhh, it's a secret.

Lauren is knitting Thermal,(from Knitty Winter 2006) which seems to be notorious for being unfinished. She says she started the sweater towards the end of May and flew through the body and the first sleeve in just over a week, but hadn’t started the second sleeve yet.

Well now she has and is racing through it.

Madalyn has returned from her rest day(s), do you think she did any knitting? Go see for yourself!

Marge is doing so well on her project, finishing the Fairisle Cardigan, that she's even tempting fate with the knitting gods to say so! Careful now!
She's off on a trip with her bike this weekend, Have fun Marge.

I can't put what Shelley had to say in my own words, so here it is...
"The blanket is going swimmingly. QuiltingMick suggested a simple crochet-picoted edge when I finish it off. (The more I think about it - the more I love it. Now, I've just got to learn how to do it...). I think I can get it all done by the end of next week. Very excited. It's been such a lovely project so far, and watching the lace just blossom with each row has been an utter delight. Yes. I have the bug. It's all over now."
Well done you Shelley.

And Whitney, our Immediate Sprint finalist has been planning for her Gansey Sleeves.

don't forget to vote.

Rest Day

2008-07-15T23:55:00.017+02:00

As the old saying goes, there's no rest for the knitters! While the cyclists are all off enjoying gourmet food, luxury hotel rooms, and on-demand massages, many knitters cannot afford to take this day off from the pressing matter of their projects! And even for the knitters who decide a bit of a breather is in order, we have a small task for you today...

That's right, it's time to vote on the winner in our first Intermediate Sprint competition! From a very strong field of contenders, your co-hostesses had a great deal of difficulty narrowing down a shortlisted selection. And without further ado, they are...

We all know France is the land of romance and Stacy's heartwarming encounter is further proof!
Never underestimate the wooing power of your knitting - Mari's counting on using her Clapotis to gain the attentions of a certain cute sprinter as he cycles down the Champs-Elysees!
Knitting skills and yarn in the colour of an Alpine sunset are the key to Drewzel's ensnaring a mysterious Frenchman named Pierre - but would you miss the Tour going by outside for hot chocolate and croissants in bed???
Nothing is as evocative of France as the accordian. Christina takes a trip down memory lane through some of her favourite accordian music...and ends up at an uncannily Tour-related destination!
You might begin to think you have a problem when you start watching past year's Tours on the computer by yourself. Not Sarah!
There's no mistaking Jane's project's connection to Le Tour - and it's not just the name, La Germolene!
Whitney's sprinting through her Tour de Gansey. In her entry, she argues rather convincingly for "the relevance of a traditional English fisherman’s garment to the Tour de France". I think there might be a PhD in there somewhere!
Ina gets a billion extra points for actually undertaking this challenge en Francais! Bravo!!

Now here's where you come in! Please visit the shortlisted entries and vote below for your favourite! Voting will close at midnight PARIS TIME on 18th July (midnight on the day of Stage 13). That's only a little over 72 hours to get your vote in, so what are you waiting for! Clickez-vous!

Vote here for your favourite Intermediate Sprint entry! ( polls)

And here are some updates from the tireless knitters!

Team Lampre update: No day of rest for many Team Lampre members. Natalie seeks advice: she is soooo close to finishing the second sock but is nearly out of green yarn. What to do???Donni will be away for a few days at the Australian Sheep and Wool Show helping a friend sell fiber. Down time (if any) will be spent working on the February Lady Sweater.

Stacey has finished the yoke of her FLS. Check her blog to see the gorgeous child's sock she's completed, as well as the roadbike her husband built for her!

Speed knitter Donna has now finished one front side of Tempest while watching a swimming meet.Kristen is relieved to be past the underarm decreases on the back of the Hand in Hand vest.

No Rest For Leaky Gas!

Some of us re fair motoring along and letting things go to their heads. Regardez ce beau chapeau!

Et regardez Linz! Bonjour Linz! Votre béret semble beau :-)

Linz has christened this "Le Hobnob Beret" :-) Now you tell me who doen't love hobnobs, specially chocolate ones!

Tanya is knitting a Clapotis and it's looking beautiful. Tanya is using a chocolate chubby sock yarn from The Knittery, and it looks lovely stuff.

And just look at Amy's beautiful burgundy socks :-) Your feet feel all snuggly and cosy just looking at them don't they.

Garmin sends cheers for VdV and hopes for the yellow!

For le Maillot Vert Heather cruised through the back of Notre Dame de Grace,

and in fear she would run out of yarn, cast on and started the neck opening early. Like blowing a tire she had to go to the roadside where she ripped back a few times before success

Her Knit Picks Options needles pulled out of the metal connector end nearly spilling stitches. Like a good cyclist she switched to an new bike and kept going.
Photograping this yarn has been a problem and one sleeve seems more green than its counterpart which seems more blue. But she has accpted the quirks of her glorious Wollmeise and will carry on. C’est la vie!
Nikki has been Frying Oreos and letting her sweater trail the peloton. She did buy the size 7 dpn’s so not all is lost...at least an Oreo was fried!!

Our Norma is convinced she is a Luddite but as far as we can see she has persevered amazingly with a bactch of problems, with Picasa. posting photos, having stories deleted. and getting herself on Ravelry . .and through it all, her photos are great, and her knitting is beautiful. It is also very French!!
Rosemary’s Maillot Dentelle was a W.I.P.She got the back finished during the Grand Depart Brittany stages and has been steaming up the left front. While watching stage 9, she increased for the sleeves and pushed ahead for the uphill finish of a much wider piece. After nearly 10cm (or should that be km?) she realised she had forgotten the neck shaping and had to rip it back again. The finish today was too exciting to do much at all!

Jane sent word that SHE”S BACK! Saw the team doctor, diagnosed with chest infection, got drugs to ward off the “too sick to knit” syndrome and is steaming ahead. Finished the back and has caught up with the peloton. SHe’s weaving her way to the front, Whoo hoo here she comes!

Well is seems that Team AG2R-Mondiale is taking advantage of the rest day because Gemma is the only participant with an update. She is already on row 141 of her shawl.

Team CSC:

I think we need a little break over at Team CSC. Things aren't going so well. Poor Sarah, who finally got her pattern and cast-on her project is now having to frog the majority of it. It appears the lace pattern is a bit off centre and considering that's the focal part of the sweater; well, the only option is frogging.

Our injured knitter, Judy, is slowly making headway with her nightie. I think Judy's happy it's a rest day too! And I'm on the flat stage of my sweater. Boring flat stage. But it should be done by the time we reach Paris.Breaking news from Camp Credit Agricole

I bet you've been dying to hear what the Flying Sheep have been up to haven't you. In another 'Blogger ate my post' incident your correspondent found herself in the long grass minus a cycle clip so here is a belated roundup of the flock.

Lyn is w(h)iping along with her Montparnasse. We now have two fronts and a sleeve and have started on the back.

Good news! Susan's children got their celebratory French toast for breakfast this weekend in exchange for a little knitting time. After a couple of wobbly days including a whole day lost by an escaped dpn,Susan is back in the saddle and making good progress.

Sarah has completed 7 repeats of her lace shawl but even better news than that -SHE GOT THE JOB!!! Many congratulations,Sarah -I'm sure the success will put fire in your needles!

Angie has finished the bottom of her French Market bag and after a puncture stop to locate her 4.5mm extra long dpn is back in business again - just watch her go!

Rachel is another team member who has made a fine recovery after a mid week wobble. What character this team have, I'm filling up...

Oh no! our speed queen Gina has had the chain come off her bike with that realisation that every knitter dreads - she thinks she is going to run out of yarn. We've sent for emergency supplies and are waiting for the helicopter to land now.Fingers crossed.

Take heart team. Marci may have found us our secret weapon. Her project has actually been to the Tour. Look at this!!!

and here's our team car!

Now, every time we feel the need of a bit of a lift we can focus on the Gilet imbued with the spirit of the Tour and feel revived!

Helene has been quietly plodding along with her Bellini. All that k2p2 rib - I bet your calves are burning, Helene. Well worth it though. Aren't these sleeves beautiful? I am, however, picking up a tiny departure from team loyalty from our Helene. She's banging on about some bloke called Cadel who certainly isn't on our roster. Never 'eard of 'im.

Finally to the progress on my project,Le Germolene. 75, count them, hard won rows in this baby now. I think I may be making a bit of heavy weather of this. Less Thor, more like Windy Miller on his tricycle...

All in all, however, another solid team performance in these testing middle days. we have the character, we have the determination. If only we could keep hold of our needles.

A bientot my woolly team mates!

Stage Ten: Pau > Hautacam

2008-07-14T23:55:00.019+02:00

Les montagnes are getting tres difficile, no?

Today's stage takes us to Pau, a noble city that boasts the Chateau de Pau, birthplace of Henry IV and a summer retreat for Napoleon. In addition to being a favorite city for the Tour, it also held the first Grand Prix race in 1901, and still holds Formula Three (?) races today.

Hautacam is a ski resort, but for us it holds the distinction of predicting who might win the Tour's maillot jaune. Each time a stage ends here, whomever is wearing the yellow jersey goes on to win: Go Cadel!!!! [Ed note: I don't pretend to be impartial. I want Cadel to WIN! He came in second last year].

Remy DiGregorio (Francaise des Jeux) was first over Col du Tourmalet, winning the 5000 Euro Jacques Godet prize. He held his lead for some time on the way to the Hautacam, before he was caught by Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval), Juan Cobo (Saunier Duval) and Frank Schleck (CSC). Then Schleck too was dropped, and Piepoli made it to the finish first, winning Stage 10. Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) crossed over the line in eighth place, earning enough time to displace Kim Kirchen (Columbia) and take the yellow jersey.

Standings:

Yellow: Cadel Evans!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Silence-Lotto)
Green: Oscar Freire (Rabobank)
Polka Dot/KOM: Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval)
White: Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval)
Team: Saunier Duval

Lantern Rouge: holding steady at 169th place overall, it's still Wim Vansevenant (Silence-Lotto)

ETA: With all the excitement over CADEL, I forgot to wish all French riders, knitters, and everyone else a Happy Bastille Day! The feu d'artifice will be tres beau ce soir!!

Team Lampre update: Donni took a little sidetrip from her TdK project and finished this gorgeous emerald Alhambra scarf.Natalie has reached the ribbing of her finish-the-WIPs sock and should be done in no time!

It's back to the drawing board for Cindy . She found that the Stargate motif was turning out too wide, but with tweaking we know she'll be back on course. Harki the lab once again provides a sense of scale.Donna finds the challenge of completing a project in a given time frame is inspiring her knitting. She finds the Louet linen perfect for knitting in the summer heat and is looking for another summery project to knit with it. As I am TV-less, she filled our team in on Team Lampre's showing in the actual Tour, as I'd noticed the Team name is conspicuously absent in Meg and Debby's posts! : "Well, yes, the uniforms are eye-popping but that seems to be the main thing they have going on. They do have a guy in 16th (?might have changed?) in the overall general classification. So who knows, we may hear more from them yet. "

Team FDJ News:

Here is an update from Lynn, including the perils of trying to knit, watch the Tour and eat breakfast at the same time:
"Because I am working nights I am only just up in time to see ITV4 7pm show. So between trying to eat my breakfast, squitting at the screen trying to locate our riders ( would be alot easier if they were in a different colour shirts) - I keep mixing them up from the front with CSC riders and knitting. I am making some progress with my shrug - possibley finished tomorrow. Also tomorrow my sock yarn will be wound using nephew power, hope it works better than last time as my nosterpinne almost got used in a manner it was not designed for, however a little bribery and correpution (extra pocket money) should help. So I should be able to make a start on the cuffs while waiting for some needles to arrive. The cuffs are beaded and lace knitting. So from Sunday morning I am on 4 rest days before I have to go back to nights on Thursday."

Janine has made some more progress on the Clapotis, and is up to the 10th repeat of the straight section. That works out to one repeat per stage of the Tour so far!
Jen has made some great progress on her yellow cable socks:

Although she is currently being distracted from knitting by a new iPhone. But she'll be back on the bike in no time I'm sure.
Stacy spent her weekend knitting away on the Mon Cheri baby sweater, as well as baking delicious looking scones.
As for me, I made some progress on the socks, finished the toe and started the lace section along the foot. Photos to come shortly, I promise. I like to see myself as a Riccardo Ricco "Cobra" style knitter, I'll strike in about a week's time and knit like the wind to finish the socks!
Rest day tomorrow! But no rest from knitting!
Happy Bastille Day everyone :)

Team AG2R-Mondiale
Suzy is in need of the team car! She was making do with a needle threader, instead of a proper bead threader, and it broke. Hopefully she was able to find a store that sold a bead threader or wire.
Paisley was also having a bit of trouble when, not only did she use up her main colour, but the next wool finished too and she had to use a third yarn to finish the brim. Now that her beret is finished she is working on her clapotis.
Rather than ripping out twisted stitches, Gemma is trying out lifelines for the first time.
Now that she is back from her holiday Katie was able to cast on for her Nether Garments. As she wants them to be colourful, any scraps you have that you could send her would be appreciated. Scraps should be superwash and preferably have some nylon content.
Jen has finished her capelet and is working on her monkey socks.Team CSC:

CathyAnn is having her own Mountain top challenges with her Gwenda cardigan. The sleeves are posing some problems for her and have been frogged multiple times. The bodice is finished, but now CathyAnn is questioning the size. Wishing you luck Cathy Ann!!!

Lori's knitting has slowed down, but she discusses on her blog her love of cycling (and the effectiveness of it to trim down and shape up!).

Sarah spent her weekend in NYC, relaxing, having fun and doing a little knitting -more to update tomorrow!

Elisa is starting to seam up her cardigan, modeled by the lovely Lily (notice that Lily appears to have a cycling jersey on...).

Rabobank are still panting after today's tough stage, but Sandy is making it look easy - check out her fast progress on the entrelac bag:

Beth has triumphed over her first Baudelaire sock and will try to get a picture for us soon; Maria is still fighting her way through the budding lace section on her Swallowtail, but hopes to have half of the first border chart done by week's end. Enjoy the well-earned rest day tomorrow, everyone!

Team Liquigas progress:

Amy has finished one sock and the cuff of the second - a photo has been promised for the next update :-) and I'm looking forward to it - the Burgundy yarn is SUCH a lovely colour.

Sprite has a toe for her sock - yay Sprite :-)

Liana has been sprinting along with her crochet scarf (fan stitch, lace weight, alpaca) sounds lovely doesn't it?

Linz has had a stern word with Terttu and it is now behaving itself and looking fab don't you think. Eleven pattern repeats completed - well done Linz :-) and I love the colour.

Betseydoodle has been picking up border stitches and doesn't her Ivyleaf stole look beautiful? I do hope you are writing this pattern down as you go along - we're all going to want a copy ;-)

And as for me, ( yes, sadly this unattractive looking lower leg is mine ) well I am ready to do the heel. I've been ready to do it for some 24 hours, but I have adopted avoidance tactics for the moment ;-)

Hopefully next time :-)

Team Columbia Update

A quickie update on the team's progress, hopefully photos soon...

Morgan has conquered short rows for the bust of her sweater, while Roxana has had a battle with the cotton she is using for her socks. The lack of give has made them not fit, even though they LOOK like an adult sized sock, Roxana says that they lie! Mari dealt with some tangles and splices but her Clapotis is looking phenomenal! Martha is going to be changing her route with her project, but isn't quitting. Christine had a mild crash with a nasty dropped stitch, but never fear, the knitting did not stop. She instead picked up a wip that had been languishing in her knitting bag. Jam Mam has been jamming along on both her lace shawl AND spinning a bunch of fiber. Barbara is at the point of her pocket, but, is going to try it on first to ensure that it is the right size before moving onto this next stage!

Team Quick Step Update:
Sorry for the lack of photo's, I'm having trouble with Blogger again! To see these wonderful projects, you'll have to visit the blogs.
Jennifer feels her Monet Bag isn't working as well as she expected and has decided to try something new.
Marge is making a break from the peleton and knitting some fingerless gloves.
Shelley is climbing through the Pyranees with her huge and very beautiful lace blanket.
Whitney has climbed mountains, raced ahead of the peleton and stormed the Bastille! With her wonderful Gansey, on which she has finished the front and back and is about to work on her sleeves, once she's got her needles! C'mon Knitpicks!

Stage Nine: Toulouse > Bagnères-de-Bigorre

2008-07-13T23:55:00.013+02:00

Today the Tour enters the Pyrenees. Watch out for riders from Team Euskaltel - Euskadi, traditionally a Basque team, to be on the attack over the next few stages as the mountains of the Pyrenees are where they like to stretch their legs! With three major climbs, including the brutal 14km, 1569m, 7% climb of the Col de Peyresourdre, and a long, daunting descent to the finish line, this stage is the kind of thing that gets Tour de France afficionados smacking their lips in anticipation come the cycling season every year!

There was plenty of drama on the road today. My own personal favourite, Cadel Evans, had a crash and suffered some injuries but still managed to complete the stage without losing any time in the GC standings. Ricardo "the cobra" Ricco attacked 4km from the summit of the final climb of the day, the Col d'Aspin and had a clear lead by the time he hit the summit. He had no problem keeping his lead over the next 26km of mostly downhill to the finish. Ricco's 2nd stage win this year.

The standings after Stage Nine:
Yellow: Kim Kirchen (Columbia)
Green: Kim Kirchen (Columbia)
Polka Dot: David de la Fuente (Saunier Duval-Scott)
White: Andy Schleck (CSC)
Team: Team CSC

Team Lampre update: Now that Donna is through with her business trip, she has gotten down to real business with Tempest: "I am back in the peleton and have finished the back of my Tempest! Yipee! Definitely counts as a mountain stage."
Now that Cindy has located the rest of her yarn, she has started the intarsia pattern of Stargate. "I am now a bit worried I will need extra wool. It took 2x50g balls for each sleeve, and I reckon it will take more to do a front than that. It will now be a race against the wool, rather than the clock."
Natalie is racing along on her first TdF WIP, having turned the heel of a sock and speeding toward the cuff. The pair will be fraternal rather than identical twins.

Team Garmin Chipotle sends greetings and a shoulder for Team Liquigas....Triki how could you?
Our first news is that Jane who has the most beautiful photo in Ravelry, is hanging on the Team Doctor Car. A case of flu has been diagnosed. She also had to get new needles from a technician to redo (gasp) her Notre Dame de Grace. As she thought, the size needle did not work out. I’m having a stiff cup of tea in her honor. Send her good wishes team.

Denise sends word that she has 20 rows of her Shoalwater Shawl done.

Anne In Connecticut sent us this picture of her very first sock. She is knitting in the flat and will seam it. She's a sure bet for the white jersey!
Emily mused about her sock.” I adore this pattern. It's so easy. Have I mentioned how easy it is? Cause it's pretty simple. And yet, I only have the cuff done. I'm about to start the heel (i trimmed off a pattern repeat or two, just to make sure i don't run out of yarn two inches away from the toe of my second sock. i honestly believe that that would kill me. and everything around me.) and hopefully that goes as easily as the rest. I feel slightly bad for taking out almost an inch of sock, but I'd rather have slightly shorter socks that are complete than one long sock and one leg warmer with a foot and no toes. One of these days, I'm going to have to break down and just buy a small digital scale. I think it'll help cut back on the guesswork by a ton.”

Norma is now on Ravelry, Her ID is babushkablue. Stop in and say HI. She sent pictures of her wee polkadot jersey,
her pelaton scarf (see all the riders nicely lined up
and a purple peplexing cardy whose designer “should be charged with a doping incident” . Five attempts, a call to the woolen mill where she bought the pattern and a call to her sister before she made the change from the top picture to the bottom. The tour inspired her to persevere or it would have been tossed long ago
Bridget sent a photo of her Bon Bon Socklettes,, chosen for their name and because she liked the pattern.

Team Rabobank wishes a hearty Happy Birthday to Bells today! And Sandy has a great Intermediate Sprint post up about learning to ride a recumbent bicycle at 42 after carpal tunnel syndrome forced her off her old bike. The rest of us are husbanding our energies for a big effort tomorrow over the hors categorie climbs of the Tourmalet and Hautacam. We'll close this update with a shot of Sarah's secret yellow cardigan camouflaged amid the produce from the farmers' market:

Team Quick Step Update
After a bit of a diversion and a quick sprint, I feel like I'm getting somewhere with my scarf

after completing a whole diamond lace border this weekend.
Gretchen is chugging along with the peleton and knitting a wonderful French Market bag inspired by their flag.

She says "I saw the red, white and blue yarn, and instead of thinking of Old Glory, it immediately gave me the thoughts of Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite and the Tour".

Whitney is on her "Underarm Gussets"

as usual she explains what she's doing in detail in her blog.

I've just had a message from Marge who's doing a fine job in finishing her Fairisle Cardigan, she says "I started to encase the sleeves and it feels like the mountains. The front was very long and the sleeves not nearly as many stitches, but there are two of them, imagine that~two sleeves~who knew :)"
Marge has also very kindly put together a site for the Team Quick Stitch blogs Thank you very much Marge!

And last but certainly not least Shelley says "I've calculated the really complex and evil lace section to coincide perfectly with the start of the mountain stages". She's hoping to have some photos soon. Good luck for your new job today Shelley!

Team Silence-Lotto is riding right along. Ozknitter is making good headway on both of her projects, the scarf and the socks. Joline thinks that silk lace knitting might be just the thing for summer as she races along with her Juno Regia. And I am riding uphill through the mountains on the shawl. Halfway through the repeats. I would be heartened except each row grows and grows!

Stage Eight: Figeac > Toulouse

2008-07-12T23:55:00.017+02:00

Two fascinating cities host our stages today, Figeac and Toulouse.

Jean-Francois Champollion's hometown, Figeac honors the man who successfully translated Egyptian hieroglyphs, and parts of the Rosetta Stone, by turning his home into a museum. It is a town of contrasts, having a medieval flavor while hosting high tech industries such as aircraft manufacturing, as well as modern architecture.

Toulouse, with its pleasant weather, is one of the largest cities in France. Located in the southwest corner of the country, it has a thriving aerospace culture and is home to the Airbus company. The Toulouse Space Center is located here, the largest one in Europe. Famous former residents include: Jean Mermoz, an aviator, and Antoine de Saint-Exupery, author of Le Petit Prince!

Toulouse is called the Ville Rose or Pink City due to the pink cast of its brick architecture, and is a capital of the Occitan language and culture. The region of Occitan is made up of the south of France, parts of the Spanish Pyrenees, parts of the Italian Alps, and Monaco. The Occitan language is officially recognized in most of these areas, similar to Catalan and the Latin Romance languages of Spanish, Italian, and of course, French. Now I am wondering what, if any, relation it has to L'Occitane, the international bath products shop? Ah! Read about (and shop, if you'd like) L'Occitane here. Those almond and lavender products look so tempting!

Race update: In this transitional stage, between two mountain stages, Team Columbia dominated the day. Not only did Kim Kirchen hold on to the yellow jersey, but Mark Cavendish crossed the line first to take the day's win. Despite the fact that Laurent Lefevre (from Debby's favorite team to spell, Bouygues Telecom) made an early start, and was later joined by his teammate Jerome Pineau, Amets Txurruka (Euskatel-Euskadi) and Christophe Riblon (AG2R), the breakaway did not last, and all four riders were eventually caught by the peloton within three kilometers of the finish. Second place finisher was Gerald Ciolek, also of Team Columbia, and third place went to Jimmy Casper of Agritubel.

Standings after Stage Eight:

Yellow: Kim Kirchen (Columbia)
Green: Oscar Freire (Rabobank) (Go Team Ribby Man!)
Polka Dot/KOM: David De la Fuente (Saunier Duval)
White: Thomas Lovkvist (Columbia)
Team: CSC (hopefully this cheers you up, after the Cancellara time trial disappointment)

Lantern Rouge: Wim Vansevenant (Silence-Lotto), in 170th place

Bon Soir and A Bientot!

Team Lampre update: Our knitters are plugging away. Cindy has completed both sleeves and has started the back of the Stargate cardi. Here is one sleeve with a labrador tail to show scale.
Donna, back from a business trip, is also back to some serious knitting on Tempest while Tivo-ing the race.

Stacey has cast on the February Lady Sweater and has high hopes of getting through the yoke by weekend.

Sarah has sprinted ahead of the pack and completed the back of the Getaway jacket.
Donni is in need of a team hug as she has a lot on her plate that has conspired to get in the way of knitting her February Lady Sweater. (((Donni)))

Kristen thought she was halfway through the back of the Hand in Hand vest, but then was miffed to realize she was really only halfway to the armholes.

Missing in action blogless Lisa had a good reason to be missing: She and her husband are belatedly celebrating their 10th anniversary with a month-long cycling tour of France and watching the Tour in person! Their tour started in Bordeaux and when she emailed me they had ridden over a thousand kilometres to Aurillac, where they would watch the tour come into town. The next morning "we're going to pop the bikes on the train down to Toulouse so we can watch the finish there and the start the next day. Watch for me--I'll be the one knitting and wearing a big, red, maple leaf hat and red boa!" Lisa's KAL project is a pair of lace socks. Be sure to check out her challenge entry which is posted on Kristen's blog (July 11) to see how she combines the cycling/knitting/France options.

Latest from Camp Credit Agricole

A quick update from the Flying Sheep.

Susan has turned the heel of her second Rivendell Sock and has treated us to a modelled shot.

Demonstrating the strength and depth of our team, Sarah has made a particularly good showing in today's stage and has completed two repeats of Le Rectangle.
Only another 28 repeats to go but our Sarah is undaunted. She also has an interview on Monday after which her needles will be flying so 'Good luck Sarah' from all your woolly team mates.

We've heard from our secret weapon, Angie who is making progress on her French Market Bag. She has been riding incognito up to now but when you see pictures of her progress you will be afraid...very afraid.

Malheureusement, Rachel didn't have a good day yesterday with a couple of frogging and recovery incidents. But, the team car was at hand, a dab of Germolene applied and she'd back in the saddle again showing the sort of character that wins races. Go Rachel!

Gina has unveiled her design for the next square of her afghan, the polkadot square. We're looking forward to cheering on our own Queen of the Mountains!

Look at the curves on Carolyn's Breton Girl. She's manouevred around those bends without even putting a foot to the asphalt. Raise your cycle clips in the air and salute another immaculate performance.

We've also heard from Helene who tells us that she is screaming down the sleeves of her Bellini! She promises us pictures very soon - could she be the dark horse of our team?

As for me, I've now clocked up 60 rows on Le Germolene. Photos soon but in reality it won't look much different to the last one. It dawns on me that this isn't the best project for a spectator sport as it has all the watchability of a Test Match with Geoffrey Boycott at the crease. Very little visible activity but I'm plodding on!

Another exemplary team performance. Don't forget to visit each others blogs and ravelry sites to cheer each other on.

A Bientot!

Team FDJ News:
There are now lots of dropped stitches on Janine's Clapotis. Thankfully, they're meant to be there!
Lene's Hanami Stole is coming along nicely in the Kauni effektgarn neutral colourway. She's thinking of naming her stole Almond Blossoms.
Helen is going away for the weekend, but is taking her knitting and extra yarn with her. So she'll be knitting in spirit with us while we climb the Pyrenees.
Jen has posted a great link on her blog to a Google Street Map of the entire Le Tour route - check it out!
Meanwhile, Stacy is powering away with her Mon Cheri baby sweater:
She's dreading the DPN section though, so the peloton will have to cheer her on during that part!
As for me, well I had to temporarily abandon my Baudelaire socks in order to finish a swap item. But i'm just about to pick them up now and try to do enough of the lace pattern to justify a photo!

Team Rabobank is powering forward now. Here's the (second) start of Kate's Ondulation tunic:

Erika's made it to the first set of stripes in her BYOB bag with these great Rabobank colors:

Sandy suffered a head injury, but still managed to fire up a practice entrelac dishcloth and to select these fun bright colors for her Market Squares bag:

I don't know how Maria has time to knit at all, between planning her wedding and packing for a big move. But you have to congratulate her for doing 32 miles on her new bicycle!

Sarah continues to be coy with the photographs of her cardi, but may have a little tease for you tomorrow when we hit the Pyrenees.

I leave you with Ribby Man to help you keep your eyes on the prize:

Today's update from Team Liquigas - carrying on with our knitting undaunted, and entirely without the aid of performance enhancing needles ;-)

First up, Amy, with her wonderful Burgundy socks. The yarn may be splitty, and she may be tinking, but they look fab to me :-)

Then there's Linz with another tenous link to the tdf if ever there was one. Go see her blog. It involves frogging ;-)

And finally, my canapé a été accompli :-)

I must also pass on the team's congratulations to Mark Cavendish - way to go Mark :-)

Team Quick Step update
At last we have a Quick Step man in the top ten!
Thankfully the Quick Stitchers are doing much better (sorry for not updating yesterday but I was having some difficulties with blogger).

Jennifer is having some trouble with her bag and feels it needs improving on...Keep going Jenny it'll be fine.
Jessica has had a sprint on with her lace and is doing fantastic!

She's ready for the placing of holes for the pigtails now and facing the challenge of decreasing and keeping the lace pattern correct. You can do it Jess, look how much you have achieved already. Jessica also says, if the finished the hat this weekend, she's going to knit some socks too. Racing like a true pro!
Madalyn is off on a short trip to Virginia but will be taking her knitting with her. Have fun!
Marge is feeling proud and so she should. She has finished with her "billion-trillion" kitchener stitches (and she has a swish new blog).

Marge also says, which I think most of us here and a lot of the Tour cyclists are saying as well "One thing about finishing projects is the feeling of that hey, look at what I can do". Well said Marge.
Whitney is doing well with her Gansey, she has just added the pattern motifs of...
Mountain Peaks

Border motifs and Cables

As for me..I'm still going at it! I'll have some pictures next time.

Stage Seven: Brioude > Aurillac

2008-07-11T23:55:00.007+02:00

Some light rain is predicted for today's stage so it's a good thing the race is finishing at Aurillac, the Umbrella Capital of France! (There are many chic umbrella designs by Parapluies Piganiol - square umbrellas! oval umbrellas! you can even order your own parapluie personnalisé!)

Though only 159km, this is the first 2008 stage to hit any Category 2 mountain climbs - but really this is going to be just a warm up for the more intense mountain climbing to come in the Pyrenees and the Alpes. Though the Tour has passed over the summit of Puy Mary seven times before, that average gradient of 12% is enough to make any sprinter shudder! The view from up top is incredible but I doubt any of the riders will be stopping to take it in!

A magnificent stage it was! Several early attempts at breakaways were reeled in by Teams Columbia and Caisse d'Epargne. Once we hit the mountains, the peloton was split up and a four-man leading group emerged. Several attacks made the final descent into Aurillac tres interessant, but finally Caisse d'Epargne's Louis Leon Sanchez gained a sizable lead - enough to allow him to slow down and seriously enjoy the moment as he crossed the finish line, the stage winner. Lovely to watch!

There was a major shakeup of the Team standings, with Garmin Chipotle unfortunately slipping down the standings to 14th, over 10 minutes behind the new leaders, Team CSC. The only other change to the standings was in the polka dot jersey, which has been taken over by David de la Fuente, who took first place in each of the final three climbs.

The standings at the end of Stage 7:
Yellow: Kim Kirchen (Columbia)
Green: Kim Kirchen (Columbia)
Polka Dot: David de la Fuente (Saunier Duval-Scott)
White: Thomas Lövkvist (Team Columbia)
Team: Team CSC

Four riders did not finish today's stage and therefore must abandon the overall race: Mauro Facci (Quick Step), John Gadret (Ag2r), the very popular Christophe Moreau (Agritubel) (wonder if they'll stop painting his name on the road now?) and breakaway leader from Stage One, Lilian Jegou (FDJeux). Jegou had what appears to be a brutal crash, resulting in a compound arm fracture and a visit to hospital for brain and back scans. Although he finished the race, Garmin Chipotle's Magnus Backstedt was 5 minutes outside the cutoff time, meaning his Tour is over as well.

Unfortunately for cycling fans, the 2008 Tour has now had its first expulsion for doping offenses. Regrettably, the news is now official that Team Liquigas rider Manuel Beltran has tested positive for the banned substance EPO. Liquigas has suspended Beltran, who maintains his innocence. If the results of a counter-analysis also show evidence of drug use, Beltran will be sacked from Liquigas. The quick move to suspend Beltran may help Tour organisers decide to view this as an isolated case and allow the rest of Team Liquigas to continue to compete.

But let's not let this news discourage us! We still have 170 cyclists and an absolutely gripping race for Paris to watch! Knit on!!

Aujourd'ui, I have a little activité du week-end pour vous - Tour de Blogs. There are no prizes involved but the more you give, the more you will receive, je promets! We have all been inspired by the amazing progress our teams are reporting in the first stage of the Tour... now it is time to go find your teammates' blogs, and your jersey-mates' blogs, and the blogs of people you don't know and the blogs of people who are knitting things you're interested in (the list goes on and on...) and leave them a comment! Here are some suggestions, but I'm sure once you get started you'll have plenty of ideas of your own:

Gee, these mountain stages are tough, aren't they?
oooh la la, I love your Clapotis!
Oh dear, you seem to have fallen off your bike, let me help pace you back into the peloton!

As we all know by now, cycling is truly a team sport and the more you get out there and give your fellow KALers a pat on the back, the more support I'm sure you will, in turn receive. Go on and give it a try!

And now for another exciting circuit of our teams' progress!

Team Rabobank's update for Stage Six was eaten in yesterday's posting weirdness - what was that? The blog equivalent of a crash in the feed zone? Anyway, like the riders, we're experiencing twists of fortune good and bad. Kate lost a day tending to a small domestique with tummy trouble, then discovered her Ondulation tunic was looking too small and had to frog. But she's a fighter, so she cast on right away with more stitches and is weaving up through the team cars to rejoin us. And Sandy is back in the saddle with entrelac after her abortive sock attempt: she's now knitting a Market Squares bag. Meanwhile, Bells is triumphantly waving a handsome pair of finished Waving Lace socks:

Now she can turn all her attention to her eyelet cardigan. Sarah feels like she's fighting her way up a 12% grade as the shoulders of her cardi get wider and wider, but she's only one chart repetition short of the sleeve divide. At that point, it will be a technical descent, but at least it's downhill! She likes her chances for finishing by the 27th. And Beth put in a heroic sprint on Stage 5 to beat Mark Cavendish and our own Oscar Freire, completing the heel of her Baudelaire sock just before they crossed the line! She'll finish her first sock by the time the riders hit the Pyrenees at this rate!
Team CSC:
Ina is in the vast expanse of garter-stitch with her Shetsoie shawl. She describes this all in French on her blog (it looks like pretty decent French to me, but mine isn't that great either)!

Christina, after an indecisive beginning, is working on a Upstairs shawl in the day and a Kimono Shawl at night (see both below). Wow. That's a big undertaking!
And finally, after a week and a half of waiting, Sarah's pattern has arrived. She's flying this weekend to NYC and will have some great knitting time on the plane.

I (Teri) am having my own rest-day tomorrow (a family wedding to go to) so there will be no CSC update. But, hopefully we'll all have big news to share on Sunday with lots of knitting progress.

Stage Six: Aigurande > Super-Besse Sancy

2008-07-10T23:55:00.021+02:00

Today the cyclists got down, or should I say, up, to serious business, as they cross the Massif Central and head for les montagnes! The sprinters will try to merely finish within the time limit, but those climbers are going to shine. Go Polka Dot Jerseys!

Beginning in Aigurande, a first-time stage city, riders covered 195.5 km towards Super-Besse. Aigurande is situated between two departments of France, Indre and Creuse. Two rivers, the Bouzanne and Vauvre, feature prominently. According to the Tour website, the primary professions for the area are farmers and "self-employed craftsmen." If you are feeling the need for a career change to something fibery, this might be the place to go! Aigurande is also famous for its crayfish.

Super-Besse, on the other hand, has twice been a stage town, and is both a winter ski resort, and a summer destination for sailing, swimming, and hiking, among other activities. Riders who made it up the mountain here reached an altitude of 1289 meters. Pace yourselves along with those cyclists as we get into the heart of the mountains now, and the knitting.

Riccardo Ricco of Team Saunier Duval Scott won the stage today, sprinting ahead of race favorites Cadel Evans of Silence Lotto, and Alejandro Valverde of Cassie D'Epargne. On his heels in second place was Kim Kirchen of Team Columbia, who took the jersey from third place finisher and current maillot jaune wearer Stefan Schumacher. Schumacher blamed Kirchen for bumping his wheel, causing the crash, and causing him to lose the jersey. Knitters be warned: keep those elbows in! :)

Standings as of Stage 6:

Yellow: Kim Kirchen (Columbia)

Green: Kim Kirchen (Columbia)

Polka Dot: Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis) tied with Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom) (Ed note: by the time the Tour is over, I will have the spelling of Bouygues Telecom memorized!)

White: Thomas Lovkvist (Columbia)

Team: Garmin-Chipotle

Our beloved Lantern Rouge is still Wim Vansevenant of Team Silence-Lotto, in 176th place.

Allez! Allez! Allez! And now for Team Updates:

Team Lampre update: It's been quiet on the knitting front. Sarah, who loves to cook, looks forward to celebrating the Tour with French food, but the heat is keeping her out of the kitchen. In the meantime she will settle for a baguette, chevre, grapes and wine on the patio.

Donna is on a business trip: "I am languishing without my Tour on Tivo and my project has a flat tire for now....back to sprint mode on Thursday." Kristen has finally gotten into the rhythm of the cable pattern for her vest and has nearly completed two repeats.

Team FDJ News:
A quick picture-heavy update today. Lots of progress! Helen has progress on her I Do Shrug:
Julia has completed the toes on her entrelac socks:

Meanwhile, Jen has, in her own words, "geeked out entirely and decided that my Tour de France knitalong socks will have 21 cables from cuff to toe, one for each stage of le Tour. " How cool is that?

Stacy's adorable baby sweater is also underway:
Janine's Clapotis just keeps getting plus grand:

And Lynn, our white jersey contender, is almost ready to start her socks, she has purchased the yarn and just needs to wind it.
More to come as we hit the mountains over the weekend.

News from Team Liquigas:

One or two team members appear to be "en vacances" at present. However there is SOME progress. Rosemary is going from strength to strength with her Montparnasse - well done, it has grown so quickly, and I am so looking forward to photos. Both sleeves are done! Blocking and seaming planned for tomorrow and then "just" the collar and edging to knit. Wow!

Amy promises a knitterly update soon. Heather is making progress with her Canal du Midi sock - unfortunately this is only a Ravelry link as I seem unable to save a photo of it for some reason.

Linz's Terttu Shawl is looking fab now that it has grown even more.

And as for Joy well I am pleased to say that I have been knitting from a chart. I KNOW it's only a small uncomplicated chart but it's a chart nevertheless, and so far my polka dot jersey challenge is going well - two new things learned :-) Short row heels are coming though, so I may need those stabilisers again ;-)

And the canapé is all ready for the border - four extra pattern repeats knitted :-)

Jusqu'à la prochaine fois, tricotage heureux :-)

News from CSC:

Our team is actually in 2nd place in the team standings, even if we've had some horrific results (can you say individual time trial...who is this Schumacher dude???).

After a slow start, Sarah B. has made some headway with her very French and chic, beret.

(and don't tell anyone, but word on the street is that Sarah is an avid cycling fan but can not, in fact, ride a bike.....).

Elisa is catching up with the tour coverage after being away, and was watching the live coverage of stage 6, whilst frogging one sleeve of her cardigan. A minor mishap, but she feels better, post-frog. Warning: picture of frogging below...

And CathyAnn has completed almost have of the lace peplum on her cardigan. She had to put it down during yesterday's sprint however, as it was far too exciting.

Latest from Camp Credit Agricole

Ah, the wind in our fleeces, the flowers in the hedgerows, the Flying Sheep have been sailing serenely through this stage. Who said 'Mint Sauce?' Pedal, girls, pedal for your lives!

And serious pedalling has been going on,I can assure you.

Lyn has finished both fronts of her Montparnasse. Such balance, such finesse, such a lot of knitting!

Susan is now half way down the leg of her second Rivendell sock - three pairs of socks by the end of the Tour? I'd stake my padded shorts on it.

Rachel has turned the heel on La Chanteuse so is shaping up as a solid challenger for honours too.

Gina is throwing down the gauntlet to fellow tourers with her intensely yellow afghan square - no mistaking that message. Never underestimate the power of the crochet hook - go Gina!

Marci has burst from the back of the pack with today's most impressive run and is half way up the back of her Phildar Gilet. No Lantern Rouge for our Marci!

As for me, Jane I've now completed 48 rows of Le Germolene. Time to step up the pace a bit - this is a race - not M Hulot's Holiday!

Once again, an impressive showing from the Woolly Wheelers!

Kate from Team Rabobank reports:
I'd like to get some knitting done tonight, without being interrupted by importunate children or housework or whatever. I've done tonight's share of the latter, and I'm hoping that the former does not fill my evening with changing sheets, washing yuck out of a child's hair, or not getting to sleep until after 11pm... because we did that yesterday, thank you very much.
Time to put the kettle on.
Knit on!

Team AG2R-Mondiale
Steph has almost used up her first ball of wool and see how far it has taken her.
I thought that Suzy was just on Ravlery and I hadn't heard from her either, but it turns out that she has a blog and I went to see her TdF CAL project. After finishing 2/3 of the Arrows Stole in 3 days, she's added beads to make it a bit more challenging.

Kathy has finished her Evangeline mitts, the first of three projects for the KAL! She's already working on her second project which is a foliage hat.

Allo from Team Silence-Lotto! Unfortunately, we have met with our first casuality. Jennifer has decided to scrap her swallowtail shawl. She says "this project has been the antithesis of all I find good and joyful in knitting". A new project may be in the works or she may pick up where she left off on a skirt she calls Oolong.

Melanie (who actually lives in France and had her own mini Tour yesterday) is making good progress on her maillot jaune. She is up to the point where it divides for the armholes already and loves the sweater. And Amy has finished her first project, a pair of Tall Tibetian Coriolis socks in very appropriate red, white and blue. Tres francais, non?

I am still working away on my adamas shawl. No ripping lately. Yay for progress!

Team Quick Step.

You've got to see this...

Ali's cropped cardigan has gone from yarn to cardigan in 4 hours! What a super sprinter,

her plan seems to be working, despite feeling poorly in the middle of it all and because she's doing so well, she's working on a few other projects to! Go Girl!

Another one near the front of the Team Quick Stitch is Shelley with her Pi blanket, glad to hear all is going well. We've got even more sprinting from Marge,Madalyn and Whitney, it's a shame that the Quick Step boys aren't doing quite as well, at least they're still in the race. And that's the way I'm looking at my scarf at the moment,

I'm just sitting in the back, waiting... until at least next Wednesday!

Stage Five: Cholet > Châteauroux

2008-07-09T23:55:00.013+02:00

Bonjour! If it looked like any of the riders were trying to recover a bit during yesterday's Time Trial, who could blame them? Today's stage is the longest stage of the Tour at 232km. We'll be looking for the sprinters' teams to try to get their men to the front of the peloton in the last minutes of the race in what promises to be the first 'traditional' mass sprint of this year's Tour, due to the relatively flat profile of the stage overall. Besides, it's the last chance these sprinters have to shine before hitting the mountain stages (when I suspect they will all just be hoping to avoid elimination!)

An interesting tidbit about today's ville d'arrivée, Chateauroux - I have it on good authority that one of Chateauroux's famous sons was Étienne Balsan, who is most notable as one of Coco Chanel's lovers (she was only 16 when they met - quelle scandale!) A squillionaire who seemed to spend most of his time breeding race horses after dropping out of the cavalry, Balsan is also credited with helping to launch Coco Chanel's career, making all the right introductions for her in Parisian society, and helping her to open her first millinery boutique in Deauville. So we may all ask ourselves as the Tour draws to a finish today, where would the little black dress be without Chateauroux?

The French went on the attack early on in Stage 5, with three French riders, including the current French national champion, Nicolas Vogondy, breaking away early. For a while there it looked like the peloton might not catch up, but in the end they did and it was an exciting bunch sprint featuring all of the big green jersey contenders. Team Columbia's Mark Cavendish was first across the line, his first ever Tour stage win and the first 2008 Tour stage win for his team!

The standings at the end of Stage 5:
Yellow: Stefan Schumacher (Team Gerolsteiner)
Green: Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole)
Polka Dot: Thomas Voeckler (Team Bouygues Telecom)
White: Thomas Lövkvist (Team Columbia)
Team: Garmin-Chipotle

I am very sad to report that the KAL's favourite lanterne rouge and last year's King of the Mountains, Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez, had to abandon the Tour today about 13km into the race. Crashing in the first stage and suffering a suspected broken wrist, Soler battled on against all expectations. He crashed again this morning in the 'neutral zone' (the lead out of the riders, before the race officially starts). Early reports indicated that he got back on his bike and continued to ride, but his injuries must have gotten the better of him just 15 minutes after racing commenced. Au revoir, Juan, and speedy recovery!

Important reminder! If you haven't entered already, it's not too late to pitch your project in our first Intermediate Sprint! Simply leave a comment on the Stage Two post telling us where to find your entry!

Team Lampre update: Due to a mysterious Blogger glitch, Team Lampre's Stage 3 info did not publish previously, so here is a brief recap along with some newer updates.

Call it what you will - La porte des étoiles/ Chapp'ai/or Stargate ZippyUppy Cardigan, Cindy is designing it with the help of Ann Budd's book. She is using 8ply Bendigo Classic and 4mm needles. Here is a sleeve in progress.

Donni is using lovely shimmery blue Debbie Bliss Pure Silk for her February Lady Sweater.Sarah's Getaway jacket in tweedy black and white Mirage has a rice stitch border.Jordan's Starfish shawl underwent a bit of frogging during the excitement of watching the Tour but I am betting she is back on track now.

Team AG2R-Mondiale
Well it seems that I spoke to soon about our team being off to a slow start.
Jen is almost finished her capelet! A bit of seaming, weaving in of ends and some blocking and it will be ready. She has something else she wants to finish for her green jersey. Or maybe it was for a birthday gift too.

Paisly started her scarf but then the yarn found itself on the coffee table watching the Tour de France while she started to knit a beret with another yarn. The scarf will be frogged for another project.

Team Garmin-chipotle also had a blogger glitch and a non-post. We will recover!

Garmin is in yellow numbers. Go boys go! We are trying to do you proud!

Heather finds it fitting to knit in green while pursuing a green jersey. Her variegated blue-green yarn and pattern are awesome

Nikki is knitting but getting nowhere, she says. Case in point, here is the sleeve in its 4th trip to the frog pond.

Bridget has been busy dog-sitting for all the friends who are traveling. She says she is knitting.

Here is the Shoalwater Shawl Denise is knitting and her new Addi lace needles.
Emily has lacy mock cable socks, on her needles or a dead easy sock pattern, as she calls it . The yarn is variegated Happy Spider yarn in Forecast and she just loves looking for what colors come next. She had 2 inches done by Monday.

We are hoping for photos of Rosemary’s Maillot Dentelle. Although a yellow jersey pursuer she drew the line at yellow and is knitting in lovely fresh white. Let us see?

Jane started her Notre Dame de Grace but had gauge problems. The original alpaca yarn at 4.5mm must be really thick. She is using 12 ply and will need 6.00mm to get gauge. We are watching for pictures today we hope to offer help.

Anne just emailed for instructions on sending us photos. Can’t wait!

Norma in Queensland sent a “well done America’” for Will Frischkorn’s amazing performance. Will is a fellow Virginian so I was doubly pleased.
Yes, Norma, I WAS over the moon!

Kira is sprinting for her green. From Tasmania comes word that her “le Tour Eiffel: in Australia (of course!) Totem merino is 6 inches long. A few very small errors at start but no time to frog. Kira may enter the Show in Hobart so we are looking for a winner here.
I am deep, deep in the frog pond. I was making up a pattern culled from 3 others . My 1776 anklet splits at the bottom of the cuff .and has holes. While it is wearable it is not nice to look at so rib-it, rib-it!
Team CSC:

Things are going well for our team of knitters. We'll still not talking about yesterday's results...

Ina, a green jersey contender, has started her shawl the Shetsoie. She is really dreaming of her favorite cycling related pastry (go check out the link....YUMMMM.)

Lori is loving working with her Knitpicks alpaca cloud lace in her Pi Shawl.

And Sarah is finishing up some UFOs and AOs (abandoned objects) whilst still waiting for all her equipment (ie. pattern) to arrive.

Team Rabobank is going at least as strong as Oscar Freire's close second place finish today. Lisa is taking her Swirl Shawl-inspired geometric wrap to the Basque country, where she intends to find a bar hopping with Basque tifosi in which to knit and watch Stage 10. Cross your fingers for pictures of this. Meanwhile, here's one of her pretty hexagons:

Maria suspects a bit of funkiness in the budding lace segment of her Swallowtail, but she's pressing on. Beth is on to the heel of her Baudelaire sock. And Sarah is pleased to report that her lacy cardigan is looking very, very yellow. But she's fighting an urge to put it down and cast on a Columbia blue beret in honor of George Hincapie's amazing dash back to the group to power his team forward after a badly timed mechanical, and his young teammate Mark Cavendish's thrilling subsequent win. (A beret she would then take off to Nicolas Vogondy for his gutsy, heartbreaking effort to hang on in front of the chase. What a stage!)

Team Quick Step update...

Jennifer has been playing with colours. Her Monet inspired bag is looking fantastic!

What wonderful colours!

Julie has been finishing off some projects : Meet Gnorman...

Madalyn is catching up at the back of the peleton, she made a mistake and has had to undo a line of knitting, which is easier said than done! Keep going Madalyn, you can do it!
Marge has decided that her finishing off her cardigan is not as easy as she thought.
She says:
"For reasons unknown to me (which is scary since I’m the knitter in charge of this UFO) (but I recognize that this kind of thing happens when you put down your knitting for a year or five), and probably everyone else in the knitting world I didn’t pickup stitches to encase the back of the neck.

I did pick up the other one billion and two stitches, so all is not lost I shall cycle on and pick up the inside of the back of the neck and encase those puppies tomorrow during Stage 6".
Shelley is feeling a bit better now and the Pi scarf is looking beautiful!

Whitney is doing so well with her Gansey, but wasn't happy with her garter/purl wheels and had to rip it out, but she seems to have caught up again.

As for me, Angie, for the passed two days I have been racing around like a "Schumacher",(ok maybe not so fast!)and not even had the time to watch the Tour, but I'm hoping to use the weekend to catch up big time.

Keep going girls!

Stage Four: Cholet Time Trial

2008-07-08T23:55:00.025+02:00

Today's stage finds us in the town of Cholet, for the individual time trials.

Cholet will hold a special place in our fiber-enthusiast hearts, as it was settled by weavers. According to Wikipedia, the chief industry there is the manufacture of linens and linen handkerchiefs, and the Musee du Textile is here. If you have any vintage handkerchiefs, you might check them out to see if they were made in Cholet or France, and post a photo on your blog for us.

Click here for the official Cholet website. There is a button on the right hand side for information on the Tour in Cholet.

ETA: Debby is having trouble meeting the daily time limits posting the race report portion of our daily stage reports. Je m'excuse...a quick report today while the Co-Directeur gets her instructions in order.

Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) won today's individual time trial at 35:44, to win his first stage ever in a Tour. It was a stunning upset against Fabian Cancellara (CSC), the world time trial specialist, who just didn't have the legs today. Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) is gaining time in his quest for overall GC and the yellow jersey.

Here are the Stage Four results:

Yellow Jersey: Stefan Schumacher (Team Gerolsteiner)
Green Jersey: Kim Kirchen (Team Columbia)
Polka Dot Jersey: Thomas Voeckler (Team Bouygues Telecom)
White Jersey: Thomas Lovkvist (Team Columbia)

Best Team: Garmin-Chipotle

Lantern Rouge: Wim Vansevenent (Team Silence-Lotto) (178th place overall)

Team Lampre update: Natalie has a list of projects lined up that leaves me feeling exhausted: the bloke sweater; two pairs of socks; a Montego Bay scarf; and a Forest Canopy shawl, all WIPS to be completed. Not only that, but when she finishes these items, she says "I could reward myself in the last week by knitting a Morning Surf scarf with the handspun I’m spinning for the TdeFleece." !!!

Cindy has already finished one sleeve and started the second for her Stargate sweater. Here is her sketch of the design.

Ann's Brea Bag is off to a mixed start. After knitting up most of one side, she wasn't happy with the way the linen yarn felt or looked, so started again, this time stranding it with a Cascade cotton/elastic yarn. 'The white cotton adds a very soft hand feel and gives a tweedy, variegated look to the multi-hued purples of the linen.'

Stacey, who just celebrated her second blogiversary, has cast on the February Lady Sweater using Dream in Color Classy.

Donna has a beuatiful start to her striped Tempest. See her blog contest entry as to why her project definitely qualifies as French inspired. Team FDJ News:
Janine is well on track for her green jersey, as she is racing along with her Clapotis. It's looking beautiful in the Silk Garden Lite:
Also in the green jersey category, Leah has cast on her February Lady Sweater:
Helen had a setback when some coffee managed to spill onto her yarn, but she is valiantly riding on by turning it into an opportunity to visit the yarn store to get a replacement. Some of the FDJ luck was smiling on her as only one skein of yarn was damaged. She has also written a lovely piece with some interesting trivia about the history of French lace for her sprint challenge.
Stacy has cast on for the baby sweater, and has also written a great piece for the sprint.
A few late starts in our team, but our other team members will have some progress soon! Vive Le Tour!

News from Team Liqiguas

Or "Leaky Gas" as some of us are referring to it ;-)

First up Betsydoodle whose stole is coming along brilliantly. It's her own design folks, and just look, she's half way through and on her very own "épreuve de temps" if you ask me!

Another sprinter here, Rosemary, just look at Montparnasse :-) it looks WONDERFUL so far you speedy knitter you.Linz has been busy coming up with VERY tenuous TDF links - oh Linz, you do make me laugh.

Kate it seems has had a change of plan and is proposing Monkey socks. Great choice Kate, I've just made a pair and they are lovely socks.

And me, Joy what have I been up too? Well, I have fallen off my bike a couple times but got straight back on, , and I now think I am ready to throw away the stabilisers. Look, I have a toe and am all ready for a chart reading instep now.

I am also celebrating 100 blog posts and for those of you who remember me from last year's Tour, here is another canapé ;-) being knitted in tandem with the socks. Now there's a tenuous cycling link if ever I saw one.

May I just remind my team members that I have emailed you all and also left a Team message on Ravelry 'cos I know we aren't all there iyswim. I can keep trawling blogs and Ravelry but it IS time consuming so please get in touch or point me in the right direction if you have updates. Otherwise, well done team for a great start.

Team AG2R-Mondiale is off to a slow start but take a look at what we have so far. (For some reason I'm having problems with blogger and this entry was entered yesterday but it didn't show up.)
Pam made a last minute decision not to knit with wool in the summer and is now knitting a lace and rib tank.

Gemma has taken the dragon by the tail and is off to a good start with her Here be Dragone shawl.
It doesn't look like I, Shirley, can do more than a row a day, so it will be awhile before I'll have a picture.

Team CSC: Disappointments Abound, but only for the cyclists
Oh, Fabian Cancellara. Our hope is diminished. What a disappointing day in the saddle for the World Champion and CSC big man.

Things look better for the CSC knitters.

Judy suffered an early injury but is making progress, even if slowly, on her After Dark Nightie. Way to get back in the race!

Elisa will finally start to see coverage today, as she arrives back home from a trip. She is doing well with her crocheted cable sweater, with the front, back and portions of both sleeves done.CathyAnn is progressing beautifully with her beautiful Gwenda. She is definitely challenging herself in the King of the Mountains, with cables, lace and everything in between.
Lori has made a dent in her large undertaking of the Pi shawl.

And finally, my (Teri) February Lady Sweater has progressed to the lace. Good thing it's an easily memorized pattern, because otherwise it would be poor TdF knitting.

Team Rabobank, in their magnanimity, would like to offer you the following for inspiration and pleasure during your quest for Tour glory:

You're welcome.

Update from Camp Credit Agricole

Apologies to my team mates. Yesterday's update was swallowed during a clash of handlebars with a fellow poster so here goes with a double helping of bragging from the Flying Sheep!

Lyn has consolidated her solid start by completing the left front and is already 12cm into the right front. I can see Lyn as our anchor woman for rhythm and discipline. Look at this piece of understated chic:

Susan is now cantering down the foot of her Rivendell sock and is planning a positive feast of sports spectating including an outing for the sock at her local Stitch and Pitch. We may have to ask her to explain the rules of baseball to those of us from cricket loving countries. In the meantime, here is the fruit of her labours so far.

Kit has cast on for a Baby Surprise Jacket in some beautiful handspun yarn.
Rachel is also flying along with her 'La Asphalt Chanteuse' or 'Singing Road Socks'. I think she deserves the team award for the best bit of Franglais in tonight's update.
Gina has already completed one square of her afghan - at this rate she will be freewheeling into Paris at the end with her hands on her hips.

Carolyn has reached the dramatic waist shaping on her Breton Girl. Ooh La La, Carolyn, more like Moulin Rouge!

You will be relieved to know that I have decided to stop whingeing and get down to some serious pedalling and have produced something resembling the beginnings of a lace shawl.

I have to say I'm very proud of our team's progress so far - allez les Moutons Volantes!

TEAM COLUMBIA update:

Devorah had high hopes at trying to salvage her project, but sadly, had to do some ripping, Her words were “It was while watching today's time trials that I finally came out of a Tour induced stupor and realized that if getting the sock over my heel was a struggle, then I probably was not going to wear the socks. I knit a few more rows after switching to a larger needle and then finally caved in and ripped it back. Time to start over.”

Mari spoke about her love of the Malabrigo lace and her project. “I managed to get a little bit knit [on her Clapotis] during the broadcast today. Since it was dvr'ed and the hubby forwarded through a lot it cut down on my usual Tour knitting time. I will make up for it later tonight with the highlights.”

Christine had quite a bit to say when interviewed “I’m making decent progress on my KAL project, the Simple Knitted Bodice. Because of heat issues in certain portions of my house, I’ve been trying to limit my computer time; so finally today I’m able to post some progress photos (see her blog). Checking the fit is a little bit tricky, since I’m knitting on smaller needles than the pattern calls for. I know that when the sweater is complete and I wash it, the silk is going to stretch somewhat, so I’m trying to counteract the anticipated growth by knitting it a little smaller. If this plan doesn’t work I could be in trouble, but so far I think I’m all right. I’m also helped by the fact that I have my unfinished SKB (knit in RH Super Saver) for comparison.”

Lyn has crashed, when interviewed she said “Help! I’ve crashed! Not sure if I will be able to recover in time … I’m not happy with the way the waistcoat is knitting up, in particular the left hand triangle. Should have done more training! I need to do a practice piece, trying different ways of doing the triangle. Also now not sure about my gauge, think it really should be on a larger needle. I need to do another gauge swatch and wash it (didn’t wash the first swatch, thought it would be OK but now not so sure … ) before I make up my mind. I will keep you advised as to progress!”

Kathy, another crash victim had this to say “I had a minor crash with my no-pattern moebious capelet, then started again over the weekend. Last night I had a panic, so I threaded a very long piece of contrasting yarn and pulled the capelet on to make sure the size was about where I wanted it. Surprise! It was perfect. So then I had to pick up all the stitches again and get back to my knitting. I’m on skein 2 of 5 and knitting fast for the finish line!”

Morgan stated “I am about half way to having the sleeve increases done on wicked. Probably equates to about 7 inches knit. That's about it for me. I just need to take some pictures. I am LOVING the Lion & Lamb (Lorna's Laces). Even in the hot weather it is cruising along on the needles.”

Stage Three: Saint-Malo > Nantes

2008-07-07T23:55:00.025+02:00

People who know their Canadian history will know that it was from today's departure town, Saint-Malo, that Jacques Cartier departed on his three 16th century voyages of discovery to the St Lawrence River and the sites of Quebec and Montreal - thus becoming credited as the "discoverer of Canada"! No doubt the peloton leaves Saint-Malo today hoping to make an equally fortuitous discovery (maybe not a whole new country, most would probably settle for a stage win!) 208km down the road in Nantes!

A four-man breakaway in the first few kilometres of today's stage managed to elude the peloton for the duration of the stage's 200+km, leaving the four men to battle it out amongst themselves in a sprint to the finish over the last 900m. It must be hard to work together to fend off the peloton over the course of five hours, only to have to turn against one another for the last minute or so! In any case, it was Team Cofidis' Samuel Dumoulin who won the stage, but because of his higher standing from previous stages fellow breakaway rider Romain Feillu pulled on the yellow jersey at the stage awards ceremony.

Meanwhile, back in the peloton... fans of Robbie McEwan who are eagerly waiting for his first stage win this year will be pleased to hear that Robbie won the bunched sprint finish when the peloton pulled into town 2 minutes after the breakaway group.

As if crashes were not enough to worry about, Tour cyclists have to worry about dogs running onto the road and crazy fans trying to get photos or run alongside - today's race was held up a bit by a strike by French union CGT! At about the 60km to go mark, the union looked set to block the race, but some last minute pleading by Race Director Christian Prudhomme and les gendarmes saw to it that the riders were let through.

The standings at the end of Stage 3:
Yellow: Romain Feillu (Team Agritubel)
Green: Kim Kirchen (Team Columbia)
Polka Dot: Thomas Voekler (Bouygues Telecom)
White: Romain Feillu (Team Agritubel)
Team: Team Garmin Chipotle by 41 seconds!

Team Time Trial - we have a winner!
Thank you to everybody who put their heads together and came up with so many fantastic entries in the Team Time Trial! We really enjoyed all your creative and humorous team slogans, team names, and buttons. Choosing a winner was very difficult but in the end we decided the prize should go to Team RABOBANK for their team mascot, Ribby Band Man! Special honourable mentions also go to:

Team Lampre for their sponsorship tie-in (Lampre knitters sprint for Lindt)
Team CSC for best foreign language tie-in (Charmerende Strikkere til Cykelløbet, Danish for Charming Knitters at the Bicycle Race)
Teams Quickstep, AG2R and Liquigas for their fabulous buttons
Team Quickstep for their bicycling kit (team wrist bands)

We have random-number-generated two winners to represent Team Rabobank with the prize spoils - and the winners are...

Sandy and Alli

Ladies, please email your postal addresses to Meg (daysfull AT iprimus DOT com DOT au) and I'll get your prizes mailed to you. Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, one of you will receive 6 balls of RYC Cashcotton 4ply, and the other will receive the recently published Cleckheaton pattern book She Knits, together with the yarn to make the knee-high socks on the cover! Congratulations and we hope you enjoy!

And now for your team updates...

Team Rabobank weighs in:

First, everyone should check out our team mascot - featuring the hunkiest knitting action figure you've ever seen! Clever, clever Kate. She's got a toddler tunic dress underway, too. Several of us are already feeling the pain of the Tour - Maria's Swallowtail shawl is truly going to test her climbing skills (and she's burned her right index finger to boot), Sandy had to scrap her entrelac socks for sheer fugliness...

... and is casting about for a quick replacement project, and poor Kaye, like Mauricio Soler, has suffered a wrist injury that may mean she needs to ride in the team car and cheer the rest of us on. But Beth has cast on her first hand-dyed yarn for some Baudelaire socks, and is flying toward a strong sprint finish, having already reached the gusset of Sock One, while Sarah spent the first stage finishing up the main body of her prototype cardigan in (Val)verde laceweight, and has now cast on a ladylike yellow jersey of her own design. Bells and Megan have cast on two different but beautiful eyelet cardigans. Erika's scrounging up some orange yarn for a market bag in the Rabobank colors, and we're all looking forward to Alli's project, an actual cycling jersey in our blue and orange. She's deciding whether to rip back and make some modifications, but it's looking fabulous:

And Lisa is actually going to be on site as the riders travel across the Spanish border from Pau up to Hautacam! Meanwhile, we're all enjoying Oscar Freire's mighty sprints and hoping he can get up for a win soon. Vive le Tour!

Team Quick Stitch Update...
Well, I think we're doing a lot better than out namesake, although I did hear them mentioned this time! C'mon boys!

Alli, who has formulated a game plan (go see her blog) has decided to knit a cropped cardigan to win herself the Green Jersey. Good luck Alli!

Jennifer's not exactly had a crash but she says it's "more a bit of tinkering by the team mechanic whilst racing". Her Monet inspired bag is looking great, despite the lack of green!

It seems the team mechanics are out in force as Madalyn was having trouble with her needles, after buying some metal circulars feels this is helping and is back on track.
Marge, who is finishing two projects to gain the Polka Dot Jersey: The Quartz vest, who's French connection is that if you squint, the pattern looks like the peleton, what do you think?

Marge is attempting to encase the edging and Kitchener the edge together.
The second part of her challenge: The other "Earl Grey" sock! She says the French connection for this project is "the Scots were often allies with the French against the Brits, and for the socks pattern "Earl Grey" by the Harlot, the Brits often beat the French..."
Go get 'em Marge!
I'm coming on slowly

there's a lot of concentration going into knitting “Diamants de Fougère”, so much so, that I can barely watch the race...
What would I do without Phil and Paul?

Team Silence-Lotto may not be in the lead (yet!) but the knitters are moving right along. Jennifer is struggling with her swallowtail shawl but is determined to overcome all obstacles and be victorious. Joline is knitting a Juno Regina wrap in a vibrant (and beautiful) purple. So far, it looks perfect. Kelli is also making a stole. The Print o' the Wave stole in a gorgeous blue cobweb lace. Justine is making Bee Fields and is using a honey colored merino that is turning out bee-yootiful (sorry, couldn't resist!). And I owe Melanie an apology. I misidentified her project. She is making a Molly Ringwald sweater and the color is a butter yellow. She mentioned kitchener stitch and my mind made an unfortunate leap. Sorry Melanie! I am working my heart out on my Adamas shawl. Less ripping out and more progress. Finally.

Stage Two: Auray > Saint-Brieuc

2008-07-06T23:55:00.028+02:00

Stage Two began at Auray, in the area of Bretagne (go Breton Girl sweater project!). It is the first time that a stage of the Tour has taken place here. Auray is a tourist area with medieval flavor. Its architectural features include stone bridges and wood paneled houses.

The day's stage ended at Saint-Brieuc, the "leading scallop fishing zone." SB is a bay also classed as a nature reserve. Sailing is the most popular sport, though the Tour has visited the area before. It is also noted for its Art Rock Festival.

With windy, rainy weather and an uphill finish, the sprinters faced quite a challenge. Sylvain Chavanelle of the Cofidis team was at the head of the race for most of the stage, until he was caught near the end by the peloton. After a huge surge for the line, Thor Hushovd of Credit Agricole won the sprint.

Stage Two General Classification Standings:

Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) -- Yellow Jersey
Kim Kirchen (Columbia) -- Green Jersey
Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom) -- Polka Dot Jersey
Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval-Scott) -- White Jersey

Our Lantern Rouge is Mauricio Soler of Team Barloworld, in 179th place. After crashing and possibly breaking his wrist yesterday, the bandaged rider is giving us all a lesson in sports(wo)manship -- he may have finished last today, but he finished. Knit on!!!

Intermediate Sprint!!!
Occasionally over the course of the Tour we will be posing you with individual challenges. (Completion of each, any, or all of the intermediate sprints is optional but we hope you'll find them a fun way to engage with your fellow Tour knitters!) And yes there will be a yarn-y prize on offer!

Each intermediate sprint will have three options - a knitting option, a cycling option, and a France option. Hopefully one of the three options will appeal to you, no matter what your reason for knitting along with the Tour!

For the first intermediate sprint, we would like to find out more about you, your project, your knitting, your cycling, and your affaire d'amour with France!

Knitting Option - Exactly how is your Tour de France project related to France or the Tour de France? No matter how tenuous your link, convince us! Tell a tall tale or pull out the wikipedia references. If the link to France or the Tour is plain, give us some extra information or embellish the facts a bit to paint an entertaining image of the 'Frenchiness' of your project!
Cycling Option - tell us about your introduction to cycling - either as a cyclist or as a spectator. This could be something like a story about learning to ride a bike, your first century, your first race, or some early memories of watching the Tour. Have you met a cycling hero? Been to the Tour yourself? We want to hear all about it!
France Option - If you're 'just here for the scenery' tell us in your best Franglais what is that je ne sais quoi about France which you love so much? Do you live vicariously through a French movie, or are you perfecting the art of French cuisine? Do you holiday there or have you always wanted to go? If we were aliens from outer space, what would you tell us makes France so magnifique??

Entries may be posted on your blog or (if you do not have a blog) on a photo sharing service such as Flickr or Picasa (you can use the caption and comments/notes facilities to explain your entry).

In order to enter, please leave a comment on this post containing a link to your entry. Entries will close at midnight, Paris time, on July 13th (following the completion of Stage Nine).

The Tour co-hostesses will select a shortlist of entries, which will then be opened up to a vote by all TDF participants to decide the final winner! Bonne chance!!

And now for some team updates...

Team CSC:

Things are starting to sort themselves out for some of our team-mates. Even though she is suffering a hand injury, Judy has managed a couple rows of her After-Dark Nightie. CathyAnn is making progress with her Gwenda cardigan. She has the yoke done as well as 2 inches of the bodice.

Jacqueline (with the best named project) is well on her way with her "Gather Robbie Into My Pullover", her homage to her love Robbie McEwan.
Lori, unfortunately, had a flat and had to get a new tire (she ended up frogging her Pi Shawl and starting over). And Sarah has yet to have all her equipment sorted out. She is still waiting for her pattern to arrive via mail.

Team Lampre update: Here is what team members are knitting. Sarah- Bergere de France Getaway Jacket; Greeley- Manon; Jordan - Starfish Shawl; Donni and Stacey - February Lady Sweater; Cindy - Chappa'ai cardi, her own design; Donna- Tempest; Ann - Brea Bag; Kristen - (me) Hand in Hand Vest. Still waiting to hear what Natalie and and Lisa have chosen, and how everyone else fared on the Grand Depart. Norah Gaughan patterns are popular with Team Lampre - Manon, Starfish, and Brea are all her designs. I got an inch or two done on my vest while at Debby's TdeF party. (Shown is the Getaway Jacket.) Team FDJ News:
Jen is off to a flying start with her Cable Socks, having cast on with some lovely jaune yarn (see photo below). Janine has cast on her Clapotis and is feeling confident after an excellent pre-Tour training effort in which she knit up a mini version to make sure it was all going to work out.
Julia is making two at a time toe-up entrelac socks. As she said, perhaps a little folle but sure to be stunning. Leah is knitting a February Lady Sweater in a lovely green colour.
We also have some lace knitting, with Sarah knitting the Juno Regina stole and Lene knitting the Hanami stole.
Lynn is vying for the white jersey, and she will be making Indian Summer socks. Helen is tackling the I Do shrug as a gift for a wedding at the end of July. Ruth is considering finishing her Baudelaire socks which she started during last year's Tour.
Stacy has just returned from a trip to Italy and will be casting on a baby sweater shortly. I(Reecie) failed to start my Baudelaire socks because there was no domestique around last night to help me wind the yarn.
Here's a pic of Jen's sock in progress:

Day Two Update From Team Liquigas

As promised - photos :-)

Betsydoodle has made a good start with her Ivy Leaf Stole - isn't it looking lovely.

Linz has made Team Liquigas a wonderful button - you can grab an html link straight from her blog She is also making great progresswith the Terttu Shawl - it can be seen Here - Rav link

Joy's toe-up socks - not much progress but then they were always going to be a challenge - and I WILL get there! I also have a surprise up my sleeve :-)

I've hope I've looked at everyone's blogs and Ravelry posts. You can always send photos to either Kate or myself by email too if you like.

Team AG2R-Mondiale

As Katie is in Ireland at the moment and wasn't able to take her Tour de France knitting with her, she'll be knitting when she gets back.
Pam is planning to knit a laptop case.
Keeping warm with while cycling in the Alps was Kathy's reason to choose three projects and she is starting with fingerless mitts.
Gemma has chosen a shawl that has stitches that she hasn't even heard of.
Steph's goal is to finish a secret project that she can't mention on her blog. She had already started it but the deadline is coming up. Won't the recipient be surprised when she sees this!
Besides the lace scarf Paisly is planning to knit, she is thinking of adding a few sprinty projects.
Steph has a cardigan picked out that will be a bit of a challenge for her.
Jen is knitting a capelet and has the information on her ravelry page.
Suzy, who is on Ravelry, is crocheting a stole.
As for me, Shirley, I'm knitting some bike ear warmers, but as I'm not suppose to be knitting at all, my progress will be slow.

All is looking good for Team QuickStep/Stitch

From Gretchen "For the TdF KAL- I'm finishing a UFO for a Ravelry swap, and will count that towards my maillot jaune. Next up- a QuickStep/QuickStitch blue hat- maybe a beret even! And the French Market bag- tres bien!"
Shelley is doing fantastic with her Lace Pi.

Whitney's at stage 2 of her Gansey...Garter Welts.

Jessica is still going at it with her lace...keep going! Jennifer is enjoying the view...of the cyclists!

Keep going girls!

Team Columbia Update

Mari is back for another tour with Clapotis, this time with some scrumptious Malabrigo laceweight.

Jam_Mam has dedicated her July to both the Tour de France and the Tour de Fleece. When she isn’t spinning along with the other spinners she is dedicating her knitting on a stole for her upcoming wedding.

Lyn’s Amplitude’s Entrelac Vest is coming along nicely. This new technique for her looks to be a challenge that she is mastering even with the race to distract her.

Jo has had some difficulty pinning down a project to work on. But we think she has it now! She is going to be working on Mystic Meadows by Anna Dalvi (shawl/wrap).

Devorah had to take some time off of her green jersey project to concentrate on the last two kilometres and finish line results but got back on track!

Christine promises to take better pictures to show off the yarn for the Simple Knitted Bodice that she is doing. She hasn’t wanted to stop knitting except to fast forward through the commercials during the race. Maybe on rest day!

Roxana was inspired by the team jersey and has designed the Team Columbia Cycling socks that she may even wear one day for cycling.

Kathy has had a few false starts with her moebius capelet. Working without a pattern Kathy has had to ensure everything was working properly before beginning.

We are not sure where Martha is at with her Polka Purls Dot Sweater but I have a feeling she will surprise us.

Barbara has a black blob (as she refers to it) that is growing steadily. Be on the lookout for the blob (insert screams of horror here – okay, not really, but it does remind me of the old movie!)

Morgan also had a false start, or perhaps just a misread of the directions. After realizing the next morning that slip was actually skip she was finally able to show some progress on her Wicked sweater.

Stage One: Brest > Plumelec

2008-07-05T23:55:00.017+02:00

Bonjour et bienvenue to the Tour de France KAL!

We have been eagerly anticipating the start of the Tour for weeks and months... while the cyclists have been doing their taper training, knitters (and at least one crocheter) from around the world have been choosing patterns, swatching, practicing cast-ons, and winding skeins into balls - all in preparation for this very moment! The excitement is enough to give me les frissons! So without further ado, let's talk about Bretagne!

The 2008 Tour promises to be a monumental race. Not only is the field wide open for a newcomer to take out the yellow jersey (last year's winner is not in the Tour this year), the Tour is kicking off in Brittany for the sixth time ever. What's so special about Brittany??? Well cyclingnews.com describes Brittany as "the hotbed of French cycling" and Tours that start in Brittany always produce momentous victories for their winners. As Christian Prudhomme, the Director of the TDF, said at the launch of the 2008 Tour route, "History teaches us that great things can be expected when the Tour takes off from France’s Celtic shores."

Celtic?! Je ne comprend pas? Indeed, Brittany has a fascinating history of settlement by the cultural group known as the Celts who are more traditionally associated with Ireland, Wales, Scotland, parts of England, and the Isle of Man. In fact, in the western part of the region of Brittany, a Celtic language, Breton, is still spoken - a close relative of Welsh and Cornish. Look closely at the road signs during the first three stages of le Tour - some route markers are given in French and Breton.

The Tour kicks off in Brest, practically the western tip of Bretagne. For the first time in over 40 years, there is no Prologue (time trial) at the start of the Tour and today's stage is a bit of a rude shock to those sprinters who are used to dominating the usually flat early stages of the Tour! Featuring four category 4 climbs and an uphill finish at the end of the 197km route, this stage is certain to wake the peloton up!

An early breakaway by eight riders, led by Francaise des Jeux's Lilian Jegou was finally captured by the peloton with just 7.5km to go. As they made their way to the uphill finish, Team Columbia looked set to dominate, with three or four riders leading the pack. They launched their yellow jersey hope, Kim Kirchen on the attack with less than a kilometre to go. He was caught in stunning fashion by Alejandro Valverde, widely tipped to win this year's first stage because of his reputation for strong uphill finishes, just 250m from the end. A thrilling finish to a long day in the saddle battling the cross winds!

The standings:
Yellow: Alejandro Valverde (Team Caisse d'Epargne) by 1 second
Green: Alejandro Valverde, but 2nd place green finisher will start Stage 2 in green - Philippe Gilbert (Francaise des Jeux)
Polka Dot: Thomas Voekler (Bouygues Telecom)
White: Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval - Scott)
Team: Caisse d'Epargne is in front, but only 7 seconds behind are CSC, Columbia, Garmin Chipotle, Quickstep, and Liquigas!

And now for a team update!

Team CSC:
Well, it appears some members of Team CSC had a bit of a slow start. EnnaVic started and quickly frogged all her progress with her Sunflower Tam. And, Teri couldn't find the right needles to start her February Lady Sweater (good thing there was a LYS sale today). We also start off with an injured team-mate, but Judy's going to help out by riding in the team car.

Sarah B. seems to have had a bit better start and is ready to go with her Verity beret (how French is a beret?).

From Team GCKC or Garment Crafters Knit CLean come news from the team doctor that anything with a French name is calorie free during the TDF. Chocolat, my friend, here I come.
Socks are popular, Emily is knitting Lacy Mock Cable socks, Romelda is making 1776 socks with a bulls-eye heel, Bridget is knitting Bon-Bon Socklettes, and Ann is trying her first pair, a pattern with stripes that is knit entirely on a pair of regular needles (no double pointed or circular) and the seam is hand sewn up the back of the heel. She says “Je serai tricoté des chaussettes.” We hope to see her on DPN’s or Circs in the future after this great start.
Denise will be finishing her Shoalwater Shawl.
Heather in Wollmeise Pfefferminz Prinz Dark and Jane in natural tone yarns will be working on Notre Dame de Grace from IW knits.
Norma is a polka dot jersey contender and found a wee baby polka dot jersey from an old French pattern book Mon Tricot.
Kira’s family in Hobart, Tasmania calls this the TOUR OF TIREDNESS because they get the tour live but at 10:30 at night. She has Eiffel in mind and we are anxously waiting her choice of Aussie yarn.
Nikki is attacking the Hourglass aka Monogamy sweater. She had a sweater set back and is looking for a cool tour.
Rosemary had a plan to do Antoinette from Rowan 39 for her daughter, for a Stage win. She is going on a school trip to Spain on 13th July and wants to take it then. It knitted up so quickly that she is already finished! Now, her knit is going to be the Lace Blouse from Jennie Atkinson's book "Beads, buttons & lace" published by Rowan. Sadly, it has no link on Ravelry. For the KAL she translated the name as Maillot Dentelle, which sounds quite nice.

As for Team QST - or Team Quick Stitch as Jennifer cleverly renamed us.
Gretchen, who's planning on knitting a Lacy scarf in a gold Maillot Jeune yarn and a market bag in red white and blue and even a beret if she can fit it in!
Jennifer, who apparently got stuck in the "mangle at the feeding station" but she's still on her bike and nothing's broken! Has been doing pretty well. Her project "Impressions of an Impression - Waterlilies by Monet" is coming on, she's been swatching and testing her fabrics and yarns.

Jessica, despite being a bit poorly has braved the lace and cast on for Piggle...keep going Jessica, you will get it!
Madalyn is sruggling a bit with her tension and yarn, but has made a start on her Lucy Shawl.

Knitted in pale lavender "Cascade Venezia".
Marge who is finishing a fairisle vest she started 9 years ago! At the moment she is patiently waiting for her inlaws to leave before she ends up in the shed with her knitting! Plenty of time to catch up Marge.
Shelley is going for the King of the Mountains and attempting her first Lace Pi, good luck!
And Whitney, we've had a few communication problems, but that's all sorted now, remember this?

She's now making a Whitney-sized Gansey, plenty of planning was done, ready for the big cast on using the Channel Island Cast On I'm impressed!
I haven't heard from Alli, Julie or Lauren please get in touch.
As for me, Angie, I'm going for the King of the Mountains again and made good headway in knitting “Diamants de Fougère” a self designed fine lace shawl in lambswool and silk. Not too many mistakes yet!

A short update from Team Liquigas

Betsydoodle has made a good start with her Ivy Leaf Stole

Gemma hopes to make Pomatomus socks, Linz has been button-making and hopefully all will be revealed soon.

Rosemary has been swatching for Montparnasse in Pink Debbie Bliss Aran Tweed but her swatches are still wet. Amy is going to make Yarn Harlot's Earl Grey socks in Knit Picks Risata, colorway Burgundy. Burgundy is a beautiful part of France - aren't they all :-) and that's a good enough link for me ;-)

Kate was hoping to make a start on her socks when she finished work, and Joy has made a start on her Express Lane socks. Her prediction of an uphill struggle seems about right at the moment.

Hope that was everyone :-) I shall try for photos in my next update!

July 6, 2008

A quick update from Team Silence-Lotto:

Rosered has made a good start on her Lady Eleanor stole. Her first entrelac and she has "conquered" the mountain stage and is moving into the squares.

Ozknitter is off and running with her Tour inspired self designed socks.

Melanie is also working on socks and is off to a solid start.

Donna Lee is plugging along on her adamas shawl after ripping and knitting and ripping and knitting.

The rest of the team is knitting quietly and we'll update their progress as reports become available.

Bon chance !

Team Credit Agricole
Bonjour mes amies!

'Que faites les athletes de l'equipe Credit Agricole?' I hear you ask...

Well, we've been quietly getting down to business so look to your laurels everybody!

LynS has got off to a flying start with her Montparnasse. French style and speed - we expect great things from Lyn.

Susan was planning to finish three pairs of socks by the end of the tour and is already thinking, based on her Day 1 progress that the challenge may not be tough enough. I know who I will be tucking myself behind in the peleton! She even went without her celebratory French toast for breakfast to collect a new member of her household. Bienvenue Yogi!

Terri has chosen a beautiful project for her polkadot jersey challenge, lace. Hope your calves won't be burning as much as mine Terri...

Knittingtastic has shown great character as her cycle clips were only delivered minutes before the Grand Depart but undaunted, she has mastered the Double Start Cast on of her Canal du Midi socks and is pedalling confidently down the rib.

Gbina is working on a very colourful afghan and has already completed one square. At this rate she'll be freewheeling by the end of the Tour.

Ckknit has gathered everything she needs for a very elegant Breton Girl. Tres Chic!

Helene has been out on her bike and is planning to start Bellini to celebrate the parts of the Tour that goes through Italy.

As for me, I feel like I've earned my Polkadot jersey already with my self designed laceweight project, Le Germolene. I was last heard muttering 'How do people knit with this stuff????' There has been progress, however.

If I have missed anyone please let me know, but please help me out by labelling your blog posts and Ravelry Projects with a reference to Le Tour and I will find you.

Allons y!

Teams Introduced

2008-06-29T10:55:00.008+02:00

Bonjour!

As the professional teams are busy making their final selections, we here at the TDFKAL have our finalised list of riders ready to announce! And without further ado, here they are (in no particular order):

Team GARMIN-CHIPOTLE presented by H30
(formerly known as SLIPSTREAM CHIPOTLE)
Romelda chef d'equipe
Bridget
Heather
Nikki
Jane
Kira
Norma
Rosemary
Anne S
Emily
Denise

TEAM COLUMBIA (formerly known as TEAM HIGH ROAD)
Morgan chef d'equipe
Christine
Mari
Jam_Mam
Kathy
Devorah
Lyn
Roxana
Jo
Martha
Barbara

TEAM CSC SAXO BANK (formerly TEAM CSC)
Teri chef d'equipe
Sarah B
Jacqueline
Christina
Judy
Ina
EnnaVic
Sarah
Lori
CathyAnn
Elisa

TEAM SILENCE - LOTTO
Donna Lee chef d'equipe
Melanie
Tam
Rose Red
Megan
OzKnitter
Jennifer
Amy
Joline
Justine
Kelli

TEAM QUICKSTEP
Angie chef d'equipe
Jennifer
Whitney
Lauren
Julie
Jessica
Madalyn
Gretchen
Marge
Alli
Shelley

TEAM RABOBANK
Sarah chef d'equipe
Kate co-chef d'equipe
Erika
Bells
Alli
Megan
Beth
Kaye
Lisa
Maria
Sandra

TEAM LIQUIGAS
Joy co-chef d'equipe
Kate co-chef d'equipe
Amy
Tanya
Sprite
Rosemary
Heather
Linz
Gemma
Liana
Betseydoodle

TEAM LAMPRE
Kristen chef d'equipe
Greeley
Cindy2Paw
Donni
Sarah A
Donna
Natalie
Jordan
Ann
Lisa
Stacey

TEAM AG2R - LA MONDIALE
Shirley chef d'equipe
Amber
Katie
Pam
Kathy
Gemma
Paisley
Stephanie
Steph
Suzy
Jen

TEAM CREDIT AGRICOLE
Jane chef d'equipe
Lyn
Susan
Sarah
Kit
Angie
Rachel
Gina
Carolyn
Marci
Helene

TEAM FRANCAISE DES JEUX
Reecie chef d'equipe
Jen
Leah
Sarah
Janine
Lene
Julia
Stacy
Lynn
Glamgirl
5elementknitr

Now that we know who's knitting for which team, it's time to unveil our first TDFKAL2008 challenge - let's call it the TEAM TIME TRIAL!

It's time to do a bit of research into your own team, find out what those acronyms stand for, who the sponsors are, and what colour jersey the riders will be wearing in the Tour. Then, take whatever tidbits of information you like about your team and give them a knitterly spin - come up with a knitter's translation of your team name, and/or invent a yarn-y version of your team's jersey to be a team button your teammates can post on their blogs or use as their Ravatars. Work together with your teammates by chatting with them on Ravelry, contacting them via their blogs or by emailing your team leader.

Any and all entries will be accepted, and there is no limit to the number of entries per team. Each idea your team comes up with will be counted as a separate entry. (That is, a new team name would be one entry and a new team jersey would be a separate entry.) The winner will be chosen by the co-hostesses and two prizes (containing what else but yarn-y goodness) will be awarded to two randomly-drawn members of the winning team!

Entries may be made by anyone, in the following ways:

by commenting on this post with your entry
by emailing either of the co-hostesses with your entry:

Meg: daysfull AT iprimus DOT com DOT au
Debby: scarlett22770 AT yahoo DOT com

By posting your entry on your blog, AND either commenting here or emailing the co-hostesses (so we know where to find your entry)

Entries will be accepted up to midnight (Paris time) on July 5th (the day the Tour starts)! Bonne chance!

Bienvenue!

2008-06-05T05:09:00.008+02:00

Bonjour et bienvenue!

Hello and welcome to the 2008 Tour de France KAL! We hope you will join us for our second knit along adventure following every minute of the world's greatest cycling race!

Please note: SIGNUPS ARE NOW CLOSED!

We have a few new surprises up our sleeves for this year's KAL to keep things interesting, but don't worry - we're keeping all the best bits from last year too! Along with knitter-friendly race commentary, updates on the peloton's knitting progress, and some juicy tidbits on France and French culture, this year the KAL will involve a series of challenges (let's call them intermediate sprints), especially designed to bring out the creative knitter/cyclist/French afficionado in you!

Not a cyclist or a cycling fan? No problem. You only need to be a knitter or crocheter to join us. Every level of knitter and cyclist can participate. Here’s how it works:

1. Choose a knitting or crochet project that is in some way related to France, French culture, cycling, or the Tour de France. This can be really broad and is open to creative interpretation, however, your project must in some way relate to one of the themes of the KAL.

2. Based on the four different jerseys that are competed for at the Tour, choose the category you will contend:

• Yellow jersey – also known as the General Classification (GC). You are choosing a project of average skill for yourself, and do not necessarily plan to finish it before the end of the Tour, but will enjoy the camaraderie of the peloton! If you are not sure what category you belong in, choose this one.

• Green Jersey – also known as a Sprinter. You are choosing a project of average skill for yourself BUT you plan to speed knit and finish it before the end of the Tour. This category is all about the race against the clock.

• Polka Dot Jersey – also known as King of the Mountains. You are choosing a project that is a challenge for you. You do not have to finish it before the end of the Tour. This category is all about learning something new, perhaps a new technique like entrelac or lace knitting, or maybe you’ve got a UFO that’s been hiding under the bed for way too long and you need a challenge to finish it!

• White Jersey – also known as Youngest Rider. You are a new knitter, and/or a new cyclist, and/or just new to the Tour de France. You are choosing a project that is of average skill for you. You do not have to finish it before the end of the Tour. Baffled by big men in bike pants? If you want to find out why millions of spectators flock to the Tour every year, then this is the category for you.

3. To sign up: email your Chef de signup, Meg - daysfull AT iprimus DOT com DOT au. Please provide the following information:
Your name
Your chosen jersey category
Your blog address (if applicable)
Your ravelry ID (if applicable)
Please take note:

You do not have to tell us what project you are choosing at this stage - but it is absolutely essential that you tell us which jersey category you will be participating in when you initially sign up.
If you do not have a blog or Ravelry ID - that's fine! But please tell us this when you are signing up.
Signups will be accepted by email only. Comments to this post will not be sufficient to sign up.

There are a limited number (108) of places available for participants. We know this may leave some people out of the KAL. We apologise in advance for any disappointment this may cause, but we have had to limit the number of participants in order to preserve our sanity as hosts. If you miss out on signing up, please feel free to take part by commenting on the blog, visiting the blogs of the participants and cheering them on, and joining the Ravelry Tour de France Knit Along group!

4. Once you have successfully signed up, you will be randomly assigned to one of eleven teams contesting this year's Tour de France KAL. You will receive a confirmation email to let you know which team you will be a member of, and introducing you to your Chef d'Equipe (Team Leader).

Please feel free to take the appropriate button from the sidebar for your jersey (save it to your server please!) and add it to your blog if you have one. We’ll add your name and a link to your blog in the sidebar under the jersey category you're contending.

Signups will end when all of the participants slots are filled OR at 10:25am local time (UTC/GMT +2 hours) on Saturday 5th July, when the Tour itself officially gets started - whichever comes first!

The Tour de France begins on Saturday, July 5th in Brest and ends on Sunday, July 27, in Paris. About 200 riders will tackle 3,500 kilometers of road. Join us to find out why the Tour de France is often described as the world’s greatest sporting challenge!

à la prochaine fois!
Debby & Meg

Some fine print you should be aware of: Please note that we will pass on your name, email address, blog address, and Ravelry ID to your Team Leader. The Team Leaders will regularly report on each team's progress on this blog. This may involve reproducing photographs from your blog/photo sharing account on the TDFKAL blog. Signing up for the TDFKAL constitutes an acceptance of these terms.

À venir...

2008-04-21T05:22:00.002+02:00

The 2008 Tour de France Knit Along is nearly here...

The 95th Tour de France will be joined by the 2nd Knit Along as knitters and cyclists alike navigate the thrills and spills of 3500 kilometres over 21 stages, starting on 5th July 2008.

Signups will open in early June. In the meantime, you can start thinking of an appropriately French- or cycling-themed project, try some swatching, rack up some miles on your training bike, practice your vocabulaire Francaise, or enjoy this fly-through of the 2008 route. And check back for more updates closer to signups!

À bientôt!

Une fete des maillots (A Celebration of Jerseys)

2007-07-30T22:53:00.000+02:00

Because we are all going through severe Tour withdrawal today, let's look at more finished and nearly finished knitting projects and keep the magic going a little longer!

Chris' socks are nearly done, and her cat Mayhem is helping her knit faster! Check out her adorable photo -- I couldn't seem to copy it here (sorry Chris).

Here's Devorah from the yellow jersey category, with her chevron vest and bonus matching socks!

Here is Elaine's jacket, ready to be sewn up:

And Heather's Grapevine socks, which she dyed as well as knit:

Ina's maillot jaune is almost done, except for a few final adjustments.

Janet has been working on two blankets. Her Pinwheel Blanket, which she started the Tour with, is now done, and her Medallion blanket is 8 inches (Janet please correct me if I've misread that!

Kat said she was dropped by the peleton on the last day, but I think she did a magnifique job just the same!

And here is Lady Eleanor, all finished except for blocking and final details, modeled by Kristen!

Martha finished her chausettes jaunes, but is really upset about her local paper's Tour coverage. Perhaps you can visit her site and leave a comment and cheer her up?

Stitchyfingers' cycling gloves are nearly done!! She should get extra Queen of the Mountains points for all of those individual fingers knitted!!

Sarah finished her Holiday Romance top, and is going to post photos shortly. We can't wait to see!

And Maxine (sans blog) sent us this report:

hello Debra, and the group. since i do not (yet) have my own blog i thought i would send you a wrap up for my KAL projects. i have enjoyed watching this year and have found some few converts among my patients (captive dental audience). and i have found the KAL blog and all the links just brilliant. many new ideas to add to my list of things to do....

finished...........pink cabled leisure socks in Sockotta

black military socks in Regia stretch

brown London beanie in Elann esprit

OTN.............tesselated fish afghan, yellow and navy in Plymouth Encore using a fibonaci sequence striping

adieu

Maxine

Sarah managed to finished Brigitte - I think she deserves a croissant!

In our white jersey category, Jennifer made an incredible effort for Camisa. A lot of firsts:

First KAL, yes, true!
First garment
First adaptation of a pattern for fit
First use of shaping
First knitting “both at the same time”
First marathon knitting sessions — I knit for looooooong period of time on this project!!

We're proud of you Jennifer for taking on such a huge uncategorized climb with two business trips during the Tour *and* you finished a pair of socks too! Definitely a Contador-worthy white jersey performance here.

In the green jersey category, we've had some late-breaking finishing news from Heidi who finished this gorgeous tank top:

And Moze pulled off another incredible finish with this cotton sweater, modelled here on her daughter (hence the sleeves are a bit long).

If I have forgotten to post your FO or near FO, blogless or otherwise, please let me know!

Meg's post yesterday with post-Tour withdrawal suggestions was so great -- last year I walked around in a daze for weeks afterward, so I'm definitely going to try a few things on her list!

I want to say again how much I appreciate your patience during my absence, and all of Meg's hard work. When she asked me to co-host the KAL a few months ago, I told her a hesitant yes because I wanted to do it so much, but there was a "slight chance" that if our house sold, we might be moving in July. Of course we ended up moving right smack in the middle of the month, and I didn't get to do nearly all the posts and fun things I wanted to do (please don't mention my actual TdF project, which I feel horribly ashamed about, but I'm with the Dave Zabriskie knitters who timed out early this year). Meg did a good deal of pulling at the front of this peleton, and deserves extra applause. Again, Merci Beaucoup to her!! {Meg would like to add her deepest thanks to Debby who did more work on the KAL than she is making it sound like here!}

We hope you all enjoyed the Tour and will join us again next year for another great Knit Along! Please proudly display your jersey buttons on your blogs, regardless of whether or not you finished the project you set out to do! As any flamme rouge will tell you, winning isn't everything!

But winning is still fun and now it's time to announce the winner of our third and final 2007 Tour de France big prize contest giveaway... drumroll please... it's Whitney of Tour de Gansey fame!

Now that the Tour is over we'll be signing off until June 2008. Bonne route until then!

Stage Twenty: Marcoussis > Paris Champs-Elysees

2007-07-30T05:51:00.000+02:00

Well the corks on the champagne bottles were popped hours ago and the Tour riders have all retired for one last massage and probably a very big night out celebrating. True to tradition, there was no attack on the Champs-Elysees, so the yellow jersey standings remained unchanged after Stage 20, and, as predicted, Tom Boonen held onto the green jersey. In addition to the yellow, Alberto Contador takes home the white jersey for best young rider, and Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez won the polkadot jersey. We haven't followed the team classification too closely on the KAL, but for the record, Team Discovery Channel (Contador and Leipheimer's team) won that honour.

There are very few spectacles in sport quite like the Champs-Elysees filled with cyclists on the final day of the Tour. It is this kind of beautiful sight which keeps Tour fans tuning in year after year, despite the drug scandals and bad press. The Tour is full of magical moments, unbelievable scenery, gruelling mountain climbs, lightning-quick sprints, requiring strategy and tactics of a grandmaster in chess and a few favourable glances from Lady Luck in order to succeed. Kind of like knitting!

Lots of our knitters have come home to Paris triumphant, sporting beautiful finished works. Some of our knitters have not quite finished their projects but have made amazing progress nonetheless. We want to give as many people as possible a chance to show off their Tour projects, so there will be one or two more project updates to follow this one - so please keep tuning in! And don't forget to stop by your fellow Tour KAL'ers sites to give them a hearty pat on the back for a job well done.

Here's Lene looking very smart, sporting her newly completed Maggie Tweed cardigan!
Natalie has finished her neckwarmer with her handspun yarn and is having an 'end-of-Tour sale' on her Tour-theme-named yarns - why not stop by and pick up a bargain on some beautiful yarn!
Despite her injuries, Susan still managed to complete this amazing Kauni cardigan! Here's a shot of the back, since we recently saw the front.
Blogless Tam gave it her all and still has a little tiny bit left to finish on her Juno - good luck!
Zarah has captured the essence of France with her completed 'Julia' sweater, modelled here with an Orangina - tres bien!!
Jen finished her 'Anniversaire' socks... formidable!
It's not knitting but it's still craft...my father managed to make not one but two eyeglass cases, reviving his plastic canvas cross stitch skillz from a decade ago. Note the Tour-appropriate colours!
Kris started out the Tour with 10 WIPS and finished four of them. Well kind of four. It depends on if the buttons have to be applied to a cardigan in order for it to count as an FO. Anyway, this irresistible little number is a top for her 4-month old niece. Mignon!
Mrs Pao completed her Kiri shawl with flying colours and time to spare! Magnifique!
Blogless Anne emailed to tell me she's finished three socks during the Tour, the companion to an existing first sock...
And another pair!
Sharon showed remarkable commitment to one project which I think she has found is against her nature... here is her wrap, with 8 pattern repeats done - halfway complete! She is planning on doing one repeat a week until it's finished, and allowing herself to glance at other projects now from time to time!
Donni finished her first Bayerische sock... I think she's in love!
Jane sprinted to the finish with her entrelac socks... say hi to Tom Boonen on the winners' podium for me!
Riggwelter finished her chunky cardigan and provides on her blog an impressive run-down of her achievements over the past three weeks! (Full marks for the Francais!)
Dotty has finished the first sock of a pair, it's a mighty fine specimen:
Meg's mum finished one apres-ski headband and is almost finished with the second. Hot chocolates all round!
Blogless Lisa emailed me a photo of her nearly-finished Anthropologie Shrug - looks fabulous!
And some more updates...
Arja has finished the body of her Mermaid.
Ann has also finished the majority of her Mermaid. That mermaid, she seems to be a lot of knitting!
Amelia has cast off Myrtille and is blocking it now.
Beverly started chickami but has had an even more important deadline rear its head (really! check out what she's using as motivation to get her draft dissertation finished!) - so no finished tour knitting but something started at least.
Paisley is looking forward to her first early-to-bed night since Wimbledon! Me too!
Amber finished her third shawl in three weeks!
Christina finished one Jaywalker as the icing on the cake of a long litany of achievements during the Tour!
Maylin encountered some pesky stitch count problems a mere 14 rows from the end of her Swallowtail Shawl but last I heard she was going to try to 'smudge' it and finish it off.
And despite spending most of the Tour incapaciated by a back problem, Peaknit managed to get through most of a pair of Roza socks - demonstrating she definitely has what it takes to be a top-class TdF rider!

As the buzz of the Tour recedes into the distance, we will all be left with an inordinate amount of free time. Sometimes the end of the Tour can leave us feeling a sense of emptiness and despair - we miss our dear friends on the Tour, including Phil and Paul, we miss having something to look forward to every single day, we miss the excuse to eat lots of cheese and croissants etc.. I thought I would provide some tips for avoiding Post-Tour Depression to help us through this trying time.

Go for a bike ride. If that doesn't do it for you, assign yourself to one of the Tour teams and pretend you're the leader/sprinter/mountain specialist/domestique.
Refer to your family or group of friends or coworkers as the peloton. Occasionally send someone off to collect drinks from the team car (aka refrigerator).
Travel in the slipstream of your friends by refusing to walk next to them in favour of walking behind them.
Refer to jaywalkers as breakaway riders while waiting to cross at the lights.
Eat your lunch out of a bag slung over your shoulder. When you're finished throw your water bottle over your shoulder. Extra points for eating only Energy Gel.
Wear spandex everywhere. For that matter, wear a helmet everywhere.
Stand on the roadside and shout Allez! Allez! at passing bicycle couriers. If you don't have bike couriers in your town, shout Allez! Allez! at the neighbourhood kids on their bikes.
Utilise Phil- and Paul-isms in your everyday speaking.
Excuse yourself from situations by saying you have to take a Natural Break.
Join the Cycling Knitters webring.
Mark the dates of the 2008 Tour in your diary now!

Check back here soon for more updates and the announcement of the winner of the final prize drawing!

Stage Nineteen: Cognac > Angouleme Timetrial

2007-07-29T05:50:00.000+02:00

It was an absolute nail-biter of a Time Trial for Stage 19. While most eyes were watching Cadel Evans to see if he could make up the 1:50 needed to claim the yellow jersey from Alberto Contador, what really made exciting viewing was Levi Leipheimer! Riding what Phil and Paul agreed was "the time trial of his life", Levi finished the stage well ahead of the rest of the field... and very nearly stole 2nd place overall from Cadel Evans!

In the end, Evans managed to stay 8 seconds overall ahead of Leipheimer, while Contador amazingly managed to hang onto his overall lead and will cycle into Paris the victor in the maillot jaune. It is one of the closest finishes in the history of the Tour, with only 31 seconds separating the first and third place riders - that's really something considering their overall time exceeds 89 hours!

Contador's performance, and indeed possibly Leipheimer's as well, might have been boosted by the presence of the spiritual muse of Team Discovery Channel, Lance Armstrong, who still owns a 1/3 share in the team and made a surprise appearance at the time trial, riding in the team car which followed Contador throughout the 55.5km course.

Although there is still one more stage, there is traditionally never an attack on the yellow jersey in the ride into Paris, so the standings are they are now are likely to remain unchanged. The only jersey which is sometimes still up for grabs in the last stage is the green, sprinters jersey, which can be decided in the intermediate sprints on the Champs-Elysees. This year, however, Tom Boonen is fairly well assured of winning green as he is 24 points ahead of the second place green jersey contender, Robbie Hunter.

Let's hope the result this year is not clouded by a controversy over the winner's drug tests, as last year's Tour is still unresolved with a decision in Floyd Landis' arbitration is still outstanding. Contador is still being asked to explain away some doping suspicions, as reported here.

Although we might have a good idea of the result of the Tour, there are still a few good hours left of knitting and many of us are still putting the finishing touches on our projects! We're going to leave the knitting updates for tomorrow to give a few more knitters time to post about their finished Tour projects! And don't forget, there is still one more prize draw to go. Entries close at midday on June 30th - so comment comment comment and don't forget to post about your Tour project!

Stage Eighteen: Cahors > Angouleme

2007-07-28T05:50:00.000+02:00

Cadel has 3 more seconds on Contador!!! (That was for Meg). Today's Tour report should probably start instead with something like: Casar wins Stage 18!

Despite an earlier crash with an unleashed dog (I can't believe they allow that sort of thing), Casar was part of a four man breakaway that included Axel Merckx (son of cycling legend Eddy Merckx), Laurent Lefevre, and Michael Boogerd. In the end, he was able to sprint ahead to capture the first stage win of his career. Contador is still in yellow (and white!) and tomorrow's time trial will determine whether he, Cadel, or Levi will be on the podium in Paris.

Nathalie is apparently going for three jerseys. She signed up for yellow, and is working on Icarus:

Although it is her first TdF progress post, she's only got 30 rows left, sprinting for a green jersey, AND it's her first lace project and first shawl, qualifying her for a polka dot jersey. Incroyable!

T's MS3 Stole is finally beginning to cooperate:

She's frustrated with the cheaters in the Tour, and in her local parking lots, but rest assured T. that in the KAL, every woman is knitting for herself.

The other yellow and white jersey knitters are quiet maintenant, calculating how to get their lowest time in for their maillot jaune finishes. Bonne chance!

Steph, in the polkadot classification, has managed to make a substantial start on her first fair isle gloves in between moving house! (Why does everyone seem to be moving house in July?) I just love seeing fair isle patterns as they unfold, don't you!

Jane joined the polkadot group thinking her entrelac sock project would be a big challenge. Turns out once she got the hang of it, the entrelac is not too hard so she's decided to sprint for the finish! Go Jane!!

Cindy has finished one of the sleeves on the 8-years-in-progress sweater we saw yesterday, despite the weather being unconducive to kntting in wool!

And Amber has posted photos of her latest shawls - here's the 2nd one she completed during the Tour - lovely!

The sprinters, including myself, have quietly been focussing on our time trial sprint for Stage 19. In fact I (Meg) was concentrating so much on packing in as much knitting as I could on Saturday that I completely forgot to publish this post until after the Time Trial started! Je suis desolee!

Now that it's in progress I have caffeine at hand and am working on the hexagon border on my cardigan. Tomorrow is supposed to be all seaming up and modelling for the camera - with any luck!

Bonne chance to everyone!