Tour de Fleece 2009

WOW does time fly! The Tour de France is coming again! It begins on Saturday, July 4th. I can hardly believe it's been another year but here we are again and I am really excited. Welcome to the fourth annual Tour de Fleece - an online spin-along for people who spin yarn and play with fiber.

This year we will have teams and prizes, just like last year!

The first Tour de Fleece was in 2006. We had 16 spinners and a lot of fun. 2007 was much bigger, with 138 spinners, and even more fun. 2008 was HUGE, with over 400 spinners. I wonder how many we'll get this year?

The concept is simple, They spin, we spin. A real spinning themed spin-along.

Want to participate?

1. It's all on Ravelry... check out our group. If you're not yet on Ravelry, it only takes about a day to get your sign in info. It's free of course, just do it already!

2. We also have a Flickr pool here. Join the group and show off your homespun in the pool!

If you want to give it a try, or just follow our progress, or are a fan of the Tour de France, JOIN!

Guidelines (NOT RULES):

1. Spin every day the Tour rides, if possible. Saturday July 4th through Sunday July 26th. Days of rest: Monday July 13th, Monday July 20th. (Just like the actual tour)

2. Spin something challenging Wednesday July 22nd. (The Tour’s densest mountain stage with 5 mountain passes)

3. Take a button if you want one. Then we can use the button on our blogs in show of solidarity. Take it from here or grab a clean one from the flickr pool.

4. Wear yellow on Sunday July 26th to announce victory. Why not wear yellow on any day you feel particularly successful? (Yellow is the color of the race leader in the Tour - but here we are all ‘race leaders’)

5. Other colors if desired: Green (sprinter - think FAST), Polka-dot (climber - as in uphill), and white (rookie)

Teams: Join one, or many, or none. Sign up in the Ravelry group. (I can't stress enough how great the Ravelry group is)

- Peloton (The main group. Everyone is in the peloton at some point)

- Rookies (first years)

- Sprinters (fast and/or high mileage like lace)

- Climbers (conquer mountains, big personal challenges)

- Breakaway (Art yarns)

- Lantern rouge (You will participate as much as possible but you may skip days here and there. Cheerleaders welcome.)

- Wildcards (This is for people who want to form their own team. This includes sponsored teams, like those affiliated with a specific fiber shop or people who live in the same town, etc.)

The teams are inspired by the actual Tour de France.

Prizes:

So far we have some fantastic fiber-related prizes donated... yes we do.

Start training... NOW!

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There are 1150 Tour de Fleece members on Ravelry! (and growing)
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