Deep Stash Yadda Yadda

So, the DS marathon isn't going anywhere, as is evidenced by the scads of blog entries I haven't posted about it.  I also haven't been keeping track of the yardage faithfully (and there is a little some to keep track of), so the idea of going through the backlog to count it all is just a bad one.  It's not gonna happen.

I maintain that the marathon is a good idea, I've just been going about it too casually.  A marathon is a race, after all, and I haven't been acting even like a tortoise in a race.  It's time to introduce the game into this game and set some real goals and real consequences.

[Insert ominous music here.]

And knock down the yardage miles a bit to, say, a half marathon.

Beginning July 1, I'm running my first ever Deep Stash Half Marathon.  I have until the end of the year to work through 23,072.5 yards of deep stash yarn (13.1 miles) or else I must sell/give away/toss the difference of what I don't use in projects.  Either way, I will be rid of just over 23K yards of yarn.  Gone.  Outta here.  Boom.  The sad consequence will be that some of it I won't get to use myself; it'll just be yarn echoes in the corners of my mind.

[Insert Debbie Downer sound effect]

And there are rules!  As follows:

Deep Stash is yarn that has spent five years or more in the stash (added in 2011 or earlier).

Only yarn taken from Deep Stash counts toward the DSHM2016 goal total, not from more recent stash.

Yarns can be held in multiple strands while working them into a project, and the individual yardage of each strand will count toward the goal total.  Because yardage that is gone, is GONE.

All projects finished by December 31, 2016 (using DS) will count.  They do not have to be started after July 1, 2016.

The goal total that isn't met by completed projects will be met as well by destashing methods (sell, give, toss) from Deep Stash.

Deep Stash destashing may occur at any time during the half marathon, not just as its end, and count toward the goal total.

So, how much do I have to work into projects to avoid the dreaded DESTASH decisions?

23,072.5 yards = 3,845 yards/month = 961 yards/week = 192 yards/day (for a five-day week).

Right.  Knitting almost 200 yards a day isn't setting myself up for failure.  Nope.

Yeah, I know it is, but the challenge of the race here is the difficulty.  I'm simply trying to work as much yardage through my fingers before I have to destash the rest, unused.

I intend to report yardage totals as I complete each project.  So, the blog entries may come sporadically, but I hope there will be several between now and the end of the year.

Now, if anyone wants to join me, great.  But, this isn't one of those decreasing-stash-alongs where there will be prizes.  Therefore, there will be no rule nannies to keep anyone in line.  If you want to use my rules for your race, fine.  If you want to expand the rules to your entire stash, great!  It's just that, I know my deep stash alone is still at least 138K yards (78 miles), so I've got a few half to full marathons in front of me before I've whittled it down to a more comfortable level.

So, okay then.  Get ready, get set...