F-Day is approaching and like all good Froglympic athletes, I got in a little practice in preparation for the big day.

My two victims:

I knit both these scarves back in 2005, towards the end of my bulky, handspun, hand-dyed, variegated wool phase. The green scarf is knit from Manos del Uruguay in colorway #116. The blue scarf is from Malabrigo bulky wool in a colorway whose name has been lost to the ages.

The green scarf I wore exactly once, because it is 11 feet long, or more than twice as long as I am tall. What possessed me to knit this ridiculous length of skinny scarf, I will never know. I’m guessing a failure to check gauge factored in, as the scarf is knit lengthwise—cast on a billion stitches, knit a few rows, bind off.

The blue scarf I’ve actually worn a few times. But it’s too long and too bulky to really wear comfortably under a jacket. It also tends to fold itself in half, which doesn’t make matters any better. I decided to frog these two scarves long ago, and what better time than now?

Mindful of Katy‘s suggestion to contain the yarn, I recruited an inverted wire shoe rack to wind the yarn on. Let the ripping begin!

It was strangely relaxing. As I ripped, the scarf morphed from an object of dislike into pretty, pretty yarn that I loved. I remembered how the rich blues and greens so attracted me, and why I impulsively grabbed three hanks and took it to the register.

I also discovered that I knit this scarf in two pieces and sewed them together. I can only conclude that I must have been drugged, or in a fugue state, for not measuring the first half and realizing the scarf was going to be eleven feet long.

Well, that wasn’t so bad. If only I had any idea what to do with it now.

Step 1: Bind off the wrinkly, unattractive lace. Drape across back of futon for photograph of said unattractive lace.

Step 2: Soak for a half hour with a dribble of Eucalan.

Step 3: Rinse for fifteen minutes until red dye stops bleeding into the water. Or at least stops bleeding enough that you think you won’t stain anything red. Confirm by wrapping shawl in towel and stamping on it.

Step 4: Pin out with eighty gabillion pins. Manage to stick yourself only once, but stick yourself hard enough to draw blood. Figure the shawl is red anyways.

Finished pictures and my pattern comments as soon as I can find someone to take a picture of me modeling the shawl.

I was sadly unable to accept Martha’s invitation to rip with the Monroeville knitters, not least because I spent the evening passed out on my couch with a massive headache. It’s amazing what 12 hours of sleep does for the soul.

However, I have decided that Saturday will be D-Day. Or F-Day, as it were. There will be snipping and ripping and photographing and blogging of the proceedings.

I have to say though, the large number of swift and gleeful responses to the suggestion of ripping out two whole sweaters, along with the popularity of my I Frog blog button, sort of made me wonder if all y’all knit things for the express purpose of ripping them out again. If you do, it’s ok, you can tell me. I won’t judge.

But enough about ripping out and starting over.

Look, something about to be finished!