Dear Sun Spots: In your Wednesday, June 22 column, a reader wanted to know how to find an eBay seller in the L/A area that could sell their items.

You located someone in Lovell! Please tell your readers that if they need an eBay sell assistant they can find one on-line at eBay.com. Look up Services, then Trading Assistant. All they do is insert their zip code and they’ll find a Trading Assistant near them. Thanks. – Leo Cloutier, Lewiston.

Answer: Thank you Leo for your information. Leo is a trading assistant himself and can be reached in Lewiston at (207) 754-9729.

Thanks to his tip Sun Spots can provide the following list for trading assistants. According to www.ebay.com, these assistants will sell your items for you on eBay for a fee. By hiring one, you can take advantage of their selling expertise, save time and effort, and still reap the rewards of selling your item on eBay. Assistants do all the work of selling an item on eBay for you, from listing an item and answering customer service inquiries, to collecting payment and shipping the item to the winning buyer.

The following is a partial list of those in the area. However, you should check out the Web site at www.ebay.com for a more indepth listing:

Alison Brigham of Auburn, (207) 777-7253, (207) 577-0844; Warren McGlauflin of Lisbon Falls, (207) 353-0686; Brenda Lafrance of Lisbon, (207) 353-7817; William Merryman of Sabattus, (207) 375-8959; Gail Burgess of Auburn, (207) 783-0239; Cindy Spencer of Auburn, (207) 782-5650; Mike Fleury of Auburn, (207) 784-9968; Scott Peacock of Auburn, (207) 784-9900, (207) 784-9700; William Cartmel of Lewiston, (207) 795-1386; Sharon Bouchard of South Paris at (207) 743-9219; Michael Mills of Gray, (207) 657-2580 or (207) 212-6267; Auction Drop, The UPS Store in Freeport, (207) 866-DROPOFF; Bill or Barbara Hodgkins of Temple, (207) 778-4267. Albert Glossian of Farmington, (207) 491-5866 or (207) 778-7647.

Dear Sun Spots: I would like the directions for a crocheted hat for adults and children? I would also love to have any extra yarn sent to me as I do a lot of crocheting. Thanks a million. – No Name, No Town.

Answer: In addition to responses from readers, hopefully you enjoy the following pattern:

Bev’s Family Hat – Size I hook, 4 Ply worsted weight yarn (acrylics wash up best and seem to last longer). Kids 2-7 (ch 36), Age 8-10 (ch 42), Age 11-14 (ch 48), teen and adult (ch 56).

ROW 1: Dc in 3rd ch from the hook and in each ch across. Ch 2. Turn.

ROWS 2 (as many rows as you need for width of head): Dc in 2nd st from hook across to end of row, in Back loops only, to form ridge. Ch 2. Turn.

On your final row for the width, don’t ch 2 at the end, just end off, leaving 18″ tail.

Sew sides together.

TOP of hat: make a running st through the last row of dc, and gather tightly. Add a colorful pompom to the top to keep the top tightly shut. I run pompom tail threads under a couple of stitches and tie tightly to secure. This looks really bright and pretty if you use different colors every few rows to create colored stripes.

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