Using up sock yarn with benefits

Someone I follow on Twitter said she'd signed up for Tour de Sock. I had to go look it up and now I'm signed up for it. It's a speed knitting competition where everyone gets a pattern and tries to be the first person to finish it. I'm not that competitive or in need of yet more sock patterns. I am interested in something that results in donations to Doctors Without Borders. You pay a registration fee for the Tour de Sock and most of it goes to DWB/MSF. I think there are prizes, too. It starts June 1.

Tour de Sock has a sister competition, Sock Sniper. This appears to work a lot like Sock Wars did. Is there still a Sock Wars? You're assigned a target. Your goal is to finish a pair of socks for your target person and get them to that person before someone sends you a pair of socks they made for you. Again, the registration fees go to DWB/MSF. I signed up for this too. I'm playing as a non-combatant. I don't know if this means I'm getting the pattern or if I'm getting the pattern and working as a medic. Medics step in and knit socks for someone who never received a pair of socks or received an unwearable pair. I think this starts around September 1.

These games are both based in Ravelry, so that's where you go to sign up. Do a search in Groups for Tour de Sock or Sock Sniper. Registration's open right now for Tour de Sock. You can sign up for Sock Sniper now too, but only if you're also signing up for Tour de Sock. Sock Sniper only signups will happen in August, I think. The signups for both at once was a way for more money to go to DWB/MSF and less to PayPal.