As I have previously mentioned, I’m going to be running my fourth annual Tour de France Knit Along very soon. It will run during the Tour de France: June 29th – July 21st, 2013. This year’s pattern is based on the patterns I saw on some gates and doors in the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris. I took the diagonal element with little extra spikes from this door:
And I took inspiration from the patterns in this door because I loved the long vertical elements and the curved top:
Then I did this sketch to see how I felt about combining these elements:
Clearly the version on the left was the winner. I have now translated this sketch into knitting and I’ll be showing you some pretty pictures of the final results next week, once I’ve finished some editing of the pictures.
The Père Lachaise Shawl pattern will go up for pre-sale on Ravelry by June 16th with the initial informational pages only being available (gauge, yardage, pattern notes…). The full pattern will be uploaded June 28th to allow everyone to start knitting at roughly the same time.
The KAL participation will be mainly in my Ravelry group. As usual prizes will be awarded roughly corresponding to the various categories of coloured jerseys in the Tour de France: the most popular finished shawl (yellow), a fast finisher (green), self-identified lace rookies (white), and the best tale of woe experienced during knitting (polka dot). And I’m thinking that there will once again be a draw for a prize among people who start during the TdF but don’t quite make the finish line. You don’t even need to purchase the pattern to get a prize. There is a prize for spectators, although they go last in choosing from the available booty.
Here’s a little preview of the pile of physical prizes I’ve put together :
(L to R: Malabrigo Lace, Tosh DK, handspun BFL, Fleece Artist Sock, Yvieknits lace, Posh Yarn lace, Tosh Merino Light, handspun Rambouillet, Filigran lace, and in the middle, handspun colour-changing yarn made from an Into The Whirled batt)
The design is intriguing. Can’t wait for the KAL!
I love your sketch on the left side. I think I need to knit this shawl with you!
No time for knit alongside, but it looks like a wonderful design. I think I may have mentioned that I work in an Art Deco master piece, and there are others near it. I often think of designs when I look at various features, I’ll have to get past the thinking. I’ve even taken camera shots, but seemed to have stopped there.