Ravelry and the Olympics and the Tour de Fleece

Greetings fiber people! Do you have a minute to look at a post without pictures? I decided to share a little bit about the cease and desist letter that spawned a huge explosion of hurt feelings in the fiber community.

Most of you reading this are fiber people, meaning you know all about it already. Most likely you know more about than I do. What excites me is that this is my blog and I get to write my opinions in it freely.

So, there's this worldwide sporting event called the Olympics, perhaps you've heard of it. A few years ago knitters and crocheters wanted to watch the Olympics while challenging themselves to create something during the span of the games. There are several variations on this, but the one I am going to mention is the event that happened on Ravelry, called the Ravelympics.

[unlicensed image of Olympic Rings not available]

Ravelry received a C&D letter. There are trademark issues. There are also judgements, the highlight being this passage: "We believe using the name “Ravelympics” for a competition that involves an afghan marathon, scarf hockey and sweater triathlon, among others, tends to denigrate the true nature of the Olympic Games. In a sense, it is disrespectful to our country’s finest athletes and fails to recognize or appreciate their hard work."

Okay, I think most people are okay with the idea that trademark infringement is serious and changing the name of Ravelympics isn't really a big deal. The problem lies in saying what we do denigrates the Olympics. Maybe it's because I've been knitting longer than many of the athletes have been alive, or maybe it's because I think fast food and soda companies sponsoring the Olympics is denigrating, but that part of the letter ruffled my feathers.

I know what I do is not the same thing as what they do. It does not follow that what I do denigrates what they do.

It turns out thousands of people feel this way too. The USOC (United States Olympic Committee) was bombarded with tweets, letters, calls, emails, and more. Gawker picked up an the story, as did the Oregonian. It's still expanding and the ripples are headed to who-knows-where.

There has since been an apology, though it hasn't been well-received.

I am talking about this today because I keep getting asked about the Tour de Fleece. I started the Tour de Fleece in 2006 in the spirit of spinning yarn along with the Tour de France. It's a crazy concept and with extremely limited appeal (people who spin their own yarn AND like cycling?)

I have not been contacted by anyone associated with the Tour de France to cease and desist the Tour de Fleece. I will let you know if that changes. So far, we are safe. I don't think anyone would accidentally confuse us with the Tour de France, but to be very clear... the Tour de France and the Tour de Fleece are two different events. One does not denigrate the other, except for performance-enhancing doping, which denigrates us all. Maybe it is I who should send the cease and desist letter?

The Tour de Fleece starts on June 30th. It's not too late to join!

Thanks for reading this. I like you.

Tour de Fleece 2011

It's on, honey. Oh yeah it's on.



The real question is do I fork out the $30 to be able to watch the Tour de France streaming online this year? I don't have cable anymore. Tough decisions abound...

It's time! The Tour de France is here! It begins TODAY. I can hardly believe it's been another year but here we are again and I am really excited. Welcome to the sixth annual Tour de Fleece - an online spin-along for people who spin yarn and play with fiber.

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. 2009 I stopped counting at 1500. I stopped counting in 2010 at 3800. 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, do yourself a favor and join. 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 2nd through Sunday July 24th. Days of rest: Monday July 11th, Monday July 18st. (Just like the actual tour)

2. Spin something challenging Friday July 22nd. (The Tour’s toughest mountain stage over the Col du Galibier for the second time, and finishing up on Alpe d’Huez.)

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 24th 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. To win them you must play along on Ravelry.

On your marks...



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At last check: There are 4287 Tour de Fleece members on Ravelry! (and growing)
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Tour de Fleece 2010

It's time! The Tour de France is coming again! It begins on Saturday, July 3rd. I can hardly believe it's been another year but here we are again and I am really excited. Welcome to the fifth 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. 2009 I stopped counting at 1500. 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, do yourself a favor and join. 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 25th. Days of rest: Monday July 12th, Wednesday July 21st. (Just like the actual tour)

2. Spin something challenging Thursday July 22nd. (The Tour’s toughest mountain stage from Pau up the legendary Col du Tourmalet)

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 25th 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. To win them you must play along on Ravelry.

On your marks...



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At last check: There are 2516 Tour de Fleece members on Ravelry! (and growing)
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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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Tour de Fleece Wrap up special

With nearly 500 participants in this year's Tour de Fleece, I have to declare this year to be a success... in many ways.

I've been keeping tabs on many of the other spinners and I'm impressed with the quality and quantity of production out there. My goal was smaller, to recapture my lost spinning mojo. I'm happy to say that I have started spinning again, after a long hiatus.

HOWEVER, as one mojo returns, another starts to slip away. Perhaps it is already obvious which mojo I am hinting at: Blogging mojo.

I don't know what kind of meta-universe I am living in where I can say I've lost blogging mojo in an actual blog post, but here we are.

It's not like I'm not having adventures to write about, either. I'm falling in love with my new town, Portland. Evidence:


Exhibit A: Tanner Springs Park, in the Pearl district. Classic Portland - ecologically sane and sustainable resource park. Plus it looks cool.


I have no explanation for the llama I ran into in front of Hot Lips pizza in the Pearl. I love her sparkled headgear.


Another great city feature: old metal rings embedded into the curbs to hitch your horse. Imagine my joy at spotting someone did just that: hitched their horse right on up.


Over on SE Division there is a falafel cart called Fat Kitty. The falafels are fantastic and made to order. While you wait, you can check out the review on the counter. (click on this to read the post-it)


Even the most hard-hearted of souls has to feel a little softening at the sight of a devil bubble man making giant bubbles for the kids on SE Clinton, in front of Dot's.

So you see, I am still here. I am knitting and spinning, working, dreaming and eating. I still love the Tour de Fleece, and I love Portland.

Stage 17: July 23, 2008 - Challenge Day!

Stage 17: Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Embrun to L'Alpe-d'Huez

------------------------------
Welcome to Challenge Day!

The cyclists climb 4 mountains today:
Cote de Sainte-Marguerite
Col du Galibier
Col de la Croix de Fer
L'Alpe-d'Huez

The last 3 are beyond classification climbs, and Alpe-d-Huez is probably the most famous climb in Tour history. It means something to a cyclist to make this journey, and in some ways it symbolizes the Tour de France itself. Cyclists know what it takes to survive it, and it bonds them in a unique way. To me, that is the heart of our challenge day. I can't wait to see what you make of it!

I'm going to spin/ply roving for 6 hours. That's my challenge, considering I have a day job and plans for Wednesday evening. I'll have to get up early to do it. I'm looking forward to it because the actual Tour airs at 3:30 in the morning here on the west coast (!) The other part of my challenge will come later, when I knit myself something from this yarn to be.

Today is our day to really challenge ourselves. What are you going to do?/What are you doing/What did you do?

I thought I'd pop a picture in here of what I spun on last year's challenge day: It's a rainbow yarn with a lot of bright feathers. It was a challenging technique for me. It was my personal Col l'Aubisque.

Tour de Fleece - Days 3-5

I think it's about time to check in regarding all things tour related. Yes, it's been a busy week but I do have some spinning to show off.

This year's tour is really different. Instead of a skein a day or more (I really did 8 skeins a week) I am only doing 2 skeins this first week.

What happened? I'm not doing bulky singles this time.



The last few days I've been working on this roving I picked up at the Black Sheep Gathering this year. It's pretty, soft, and easy to spin.



I took a little over 4 oz, split it in half, and spun up two fine singles. I started plying them together yesterday and hope to finish that today.

Yes, I've slowed down, sort of. It's okay. I think I'm spinning about the same yardage per day though since I'm aiming for fingering weight now.

I'm looking forward to a great weekend of spinning some roving I dyed recently and perhaps a bit of berry picking as well.

Happy Fiber Friday!

Tour de Fleece - opening weekend

I'm spinning again! After a long hiatus I'm happy to report that some real spinning happened this weekend.

Day 1: July 5, 2008: Brest to Plumelec

Despite opening day jitters, I sat down at the wheel and started spinning up some fiber as if I hadn't just taken a break for the better part of a year. Just like riding a bike, it came back to me.



The fiber is a blend of mohair, wool and alpaca in a natural charcoal color. I bought it from Bear Dog Fiber at this year's Black Sheep Gathering. It's soft, fluffy, and easy to spin.



I split the roving in half and spun up two singles as thin as I could do them on my bulky flyer. I used a trick I had read about where you zigzag the yarn through the hook to slow the draw... it works!

This is all rather shocking because:

1. I haven't spun in ages

2. I never spin thin or consistent

3. I rarely spin just one kind of fiber

4. I usually spin art yarns

So, my style is evolving. I thought this might happen after such a long break.

Day 2: July 5, 2008: Auray to Saint-Brieuc

A day for plying. I sat down at the wheel and watched the Tour de France and plyed the charcoal yarn.



I think it looks good. I'll have a better idea how I feel about this yarn tomorrow when I wind it onto the niddy noddy and can count the yards.

In summary:

Just like in the actual Tour de France, I declare my own spinning challenge to be off to a great start!

Tour de Fleece Eve

Can you believe it? The Tour starts tomorrow! This is what I spun on the opening day of last year's tour:



This year? Some things are still the same:

1. I love yarn

2. I love the Tour de France (despite the organization's intentions otherwise)

3. I love reading about what everyone is up to with their spinning

4. I love seeing pictures of what other people are spinning

5. I love the idea that we can turn a haircut into a wearable garment with a few steps

6. Homespun yarn is cool

7. Community is cool

8. I am still here

9. You are still here

10. We are still friends

Good luck tomorrow! See you on the finish line!