Writing on Examiner

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I've been writing online for The Examiner. The Examiner has editions in over 100 cities. Each writer focusses on a particular subject.

I am the Boston Knitting Examiner. I write about knitting in general, and about knitting in New England (as far as I know there are currently no other Examiners in New England).

The Examiner suggests that writers post 3 to 4 articles a week. Articles can be of any length, articles are often relatively concise.

The articles I have been writing are a little more formal than blog posts, but not much more difficult. Three to four articles a week may sound intimidating, but I have found it easier than I expected. Between reviews of stores, websites and books, New England knitting events, techniques, patterns, charity projects and more, there is plenty to write about. As needed, The Examiner gives support and help to writers.

Examiners get paid based on page views and a few other parameters. They pay about 1 cent per page view. This may not sound like much, but it can add up - especially when you do some promoting. In contrast, other writing websites give upfront payments, but only pay a penny for every seven to ten views.

The articles written for The Examiner get published as soon as you post them. They don't have to be approved before they're published, and they are not rated. There are people working for The Examiner who oversee your work, but - so far - I've been given free rein to post what I want to.

Some New Yarn

I haven't bought any new yarn in a while, but I finally succumbed a few days ago. We were running some errands and I decided to stop by Michaels. Last week at the Billerica Library knitting group - The Libraryarns - one of the other knitters was working with a new yarn she bought at Michaels.

I found some beautiful colors I thought would look great in scarves. The picture below shows the yarn I purchased and the beginnings of a scarf I am making.




The name of the yarn is Impeccable and it's made by a Canadian company called Loops & Threads. It is a worsted weight acrylic, 3.5 oz/100 g and 192 yards/175 m. The texture is not as rough as some yarns, but it is not the softest either. I think it will work great as a scarf. With 21 stitches on size 9 (US) needles, it's about 5 inches wide. I'm not finished, but I think one skein will make a scarf about 5 to 6 feet long.

Charity Knitting: The Mother Bear Project

I just published a new article about The Mother Bear Project. Knit or crochet a bear to go to a child with HIV/Aids - this looks like a fun project.


My plan is to periodically feature a charity product. There are so many wonderful causes to donate to. It's a win-win activity, you get to enjoy making something for someone who needs it. What a great feeling - you know that you're project is being loved.

Do you have a favorite cause or project? Let me know, if I write about it I'll include a link to the website of your choice.

Happy Birthday Jen! and Olin College Open House

Today is my daughter's 19th Birthday! Boy, does time fly. Birthdays can be bittersweet for moms. It's so wonderful to watch our children grow and thrive, but I sometimes miss the little girl.

My youngest daughter and I went to visit Olin College today. They had an open house for prospective women students.

Many people haven't heard of Olin. It is a small engineering school in Needham, Massachusetts, and it has only had three graduating classes. It has an amazing program that emphasizes hands-on, collaborative, real-world projects. It is well-funded with amazing resources. Up until this year every student received a full tuition scholarship, it has been reduced to half for next year - but it's still an amazing deal. The kids leave there with an excellent education preparing them for just about any field they want to go into.

I posted an article yesterday called "Acquiring knitting needles and yarn without spending a lot of money" In these economic times, we need all the help we can get!