ESK’s 2020 Yarnathon

I’ve probably been participating in Eat, Sleep, Knit’s Yarnathon for as long as it’s been happening. There are multiple ways to win:

1. Orders add up based on yardage and at each level (1,000 yards, then 4,0000 yards, 7,000 yards, etc.), there’s a store credit prize. It starts at $5 and goes all the way up to $30. Along some of the yardage levels, you also win stars. There are “sweater quantity” boosts and Power Boost yarns each month to help boost the yardage numbers so one can really get a lot more yards for the buck by taking advantage of these extras. For instance, you have to have credit for 39,000 yards to finish the Yarnathon but because of power boosts and sweater quantities, say I were to buy 6 skeins of Queensland Kathmandu today (I didn’t!), I’d actually be purchasing 1,248 yards but would be given credit for 3,744 yards. But, buying any yarn when I don’t need yarn is a bit much for me right now.
2. Knit Alongs. There are quarterly KALs, as well as one that goes through the whole year. There are usually a few Flash Knit Alongs every now and then too. These are usually quick projects with a short time period but extra stars are earned for those.
3. Badges. There are dozens and dozens of ways to earn badges and it’s the kinds of things we all do every day – knit a pair of socks, finish an old project, knit an adult size sweater, knit something using chunky weight yarn, etc. We get points for – anywhere from 5 to 20. We can earn a bag, $20 credit and 5 stars, depending on how many points we earn . . first the bag, then the credit, then the stars.
4. VIP. Last year and I think again this year, though I haven’t read all the details, there’s a special prize package for those earning at least 60 points. That amount of stars could be earned simply by buying A LOT of yarn but I don’t think you can earn 60 stars without buying at least some amount of yarn.

I had planned not to participate in 2020. First, I don’t need any more yarn. Second, there’s a “long haul” badge for finishing an old project but that can only be earned once and since I had planned to concentrate on older projects, I knew I couldn’t reach the VIP point while not buying much yarn and finishing old projects.

The best part of ESK’s Yarnathons is that you can use yarn you already have, so long as it was purchased from ESK. You don’t have to buy new near .. unless you want to reach those yardage goals.

Last night, my friend, Denise and I were emailing and I told her about my plans to mostly sit this year out but then I said “I don’t want it to be September and wish I had participated!”

I’m still sticking to my plan – knit what I want to knit and if it happens to be something that will qualify for a badge or Knit Along project, that’s good. I’d about bet the farm that I will not get to the VIP level this year but that’s ok. There’s a lot of satisfaction in finishing projects and using the yarn I have here.

The Yarnathon is so fun and it’s so inspiring and I love a good challenge so I don’t see me ever totally not participating at some level.

Once again I’ll say this – I’m not on a “NO BUY” plan. I’m just on a “buy only what you need” plan. There have been purchases already and there will be purchases but they’ll be way different from previous year’s purchases.