10 Random Things About Me

So, there has been a lot of those "Here are _insert number  random things about me. Like this post, and I'll give you a number" things going around on my Facebook feed. I thought I would do one of my own, but not on Facebook. I am friends with way too many students, and that feels awkward to me. So instead, I thought I would do it here.

So, here are 10 random things about me. You do not have to like it, and I won't give you a number. :)

1. I have traveled to 22 different countries, 23 if you count Gibraltar as being different from England.
Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, France, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, and Morocco

2. I went to 4 different schools for college - Trinity Western University in Langley, BC, Green River and South Seattle Community Colleges, and the University of Washington.

3. I have always hated the word "tongue" - not a good thing for a Linguistics major, let me tell you.

4. I can't stand the thought of having something between my toes, and it took a long time for me to be okay with flip flops. Toe socks and the Vibram FiveFingers shoes literally make me cringe - I can't even look at people wearing them without involuntarily shuttering.

5. My dad taught me how to crochet. My grandma taught me how to use a sewing machine. My mom taught me how to cross-stitch.

6. One of my ancestors came to the New World on the good ship Anne in 1623, and most likely was present at the second Thanksgiving. You can read about the miracle that preceded the second Thanksgiving here. I think that's pretty cool.

7. I hated my middle name, Ryan, growing up. I kept trying to convince my parents to at least change the spelling to something more feminine - Ryanne or Rianne. Of course, they never did, and I eventually grew to like it.

8. I am a slight closet feminist. I don't plan on burning my bras at any point, but a lot of the Christian material for woman and marriage gets me a little hot under the collar. Please don't ever ask me when I plan to quit my job and become a stay-at-home mom. For some women, it's great, they love it and excel at it - good for them! For me, not so much.

9. One of my most vivid dreams was about the play areas at my elementary school being filled with water, and there was a white duck with rainbow-colored wings floating around that turned into a cat when you picked it up. I must have been 8 or 9 when I had the dream, and I can still remember exactly what happened 20 years later. Any dream analysts out there?

10. I am 1/6th owner of a bean sprout factory. My husband owns 1/3 of his parents' business, and I own 1/2 of whatever he owns. Bonus fact - I hate bean sprouts.

It's kind of fun thinking about the things people might not know about you. What's something random about you?

Pattern Resizing - Basic Beanie Patterns (NB, XS, S, M, L and XL)

When I post a hat pattern, I usually only post one size (and I try to do different sizes for different hats), but after getting many questions related to resizing my patterns, I decided to post the directions for how I resize when making my hats. These directions will give you very basic beanie hats, which you can then embellish according to the patterns I've posted, or do your own thing.

I normally use an I hook and a thicker worsted weight yarn (usually Vanna's Choice). Choosing a larger or smaller hook, and a thicker or thinner yarn is also an easy way to change the size of a finished product, while following the original pattern. Tension (how tight or now loose you crochet) will also affect the finished size.

For a Newborn (0-3 months - 11-13" I generally only use this one for newborn photography props)
Round 1: In magic circle, 10dc, join to first dc

Round 2: ch 2 (counts as stitch throughout), dc in same stitch, 2dc in every stitch (20 stitches), join to beginning ch

Round 3: ch 2, dc in same stitch, *dc in next stitch, 2dc in following stitch, repeat from * (30 stitches), join

Round 4: ch 2, dc in same stitch, *dc in next 2 stitches, 2dc in following stitch, repeat from * (40 stitches), join (measures about 4" in diameter)
Round 5- 11: ch 2, dc in each stitch (40  stitches), join (measures about 5.5" in length)

*Earflaps should be 16 stitches apart, and 6 or 8 stitches wide, depending on your preference

For an Extra Small (3-6 months: 14-16")
Round 1: In magic circle, 11dc, join to first dc

Round 2: ch 2 (counts as stitch throughout), dc in same stitch, 2dc in every stitch (22 stitches), join to beginning ch

Round 3: ch 2, dc in same stitch, *dc in next stitch, 2dc in following stitch, repeat from * (33 stitches), join

Round 4: ch 2, dc in same stitch, *dc in next 2 stitches, 2dc in following stitch, repeat from * (44 stitches), join (measures about 4.25" in diameter)
Round 5- 12: ch 2, dc in each stitch (44 stitches), join (measures about 6" in length)

*Earflaps should be 18 stitches apart, and 8 stitches wide

For a Small (6 - 18 months: 16-18")

Round 1: In magic circle, 12dc, join to first dc

Round 2: ch 2 (counts as stitch throughout), dc in same stitch, 2dc in every stitch (24 stitches), join to beginning ch

Round 3: ch 2, dc in same stitch, *dc in next stitch, 2dc in following stitch, repeat from * (36 stitches), join

Round 4: ch 2, dc in same stitch, *dc in next 2 stitches, 2dc in following stitch, repeat from * (48 stitches), join (measures about 4.5" in diameter)
Round 5- 13: ch 2, dc in each stitch (48  stitches), join (measures about 6.5" in length)

*Earflaps should be 20 stitches apart, and 8 stitches wide

For a Medium (18 months - 3T: 18-20" )

Round 1: In magic circle, 13dc, join to first dc

Round 2: ch 2 (counts as stitch throughout), dc in same stitch, 2dc in every stitch (26 stitches), join to beginning ch

Round 3: ch 2, dc in same stitch, *dc in next stitch, 2dc in following stitch, repeat from * (39 stitches), join

Round 4: ch 2, dc in same stitch, *dc in next 2 stitches, 2dc in following stitch, repeat from * (52 stitches), join (measures about 4.75" in diameter)
Round 5- 14: ch 2, dc in each stitch (52  stitches), join (measures about 7" in length)

*Earflaps should be 22 stitches apart, and 8 or 10 stitches wide, depending on your preference

For a Large (3T - Adult S: 20-23")

Round 1: In magic circle, 12dc, join to first dc

Round 2: ch 2 (counts as stitch throughout), dc in same stitch, 2dc in every stitch (24 stitches), join to beginning ch

Round 3: ch 2, dc in same stitch, *dc in next stitch, 2dc in following stitch, repeat from * (36 stitches), join

Round 4: ch 2, dc in same stitch, *dc in next 2 stitches, 2dc in following stitch, repeat from * (48 stitches), join
Round 5: ch 2, dc in same stitch, *dc in next  3 stitches, 2dc in following stitch, repeat from * (60 stitches), join (measures about 5.5" in diameter)

Round 6 - 15: ch 2, dc in each stitch (60  stitches), join (measures about 7.5" in length)

*Earflaps should be 24 stitches apart, and 10 stitches wide

For an Extra Large (Adult Size: 24+")

Round 1: In magic circle, 13dc, join to first dc

Round 2: ch 2 (counts as stitch throughout), dc in same stitch, 2dc in every stitch (26 stitches), join to beginning ch

Round 3: ch 2, dc in same stitch, *dc in next stitch, 2dc in following stitch, repeat from * (39 stitches), join

Round 4: ch 2, dc in same stitch, *dc in next 2 stitches, 2dc in following stitch, repeat from * (52 stitches), join
Round 5: ch 2, dc in same stitch, *dc in next  3 stitches, 2dc in following stitch, repeat from * (65 stitches), join (measures about 6" in diameter)

Round 6 - 16: ch 2, dc in each stitch (65  stitches), join (measures about 8" in length)

*Earflaps should be 26 stitches apart, and 10 or 12 stitches wide, depending on your preference 

Here are the beginning increase circles all lined up, so you can see how they differ in size:

Each row of stitches you do adds about .5" to the length, so keep that in mind in you need to increase or decrease a size.

You can mess around with the number of stitches in the beginning round, the number of increase rows, and the number of rows you work to get a hat that is the perfect size for whoever it is for, but these are the most common patterns I use to make my hats.

A Tale Of Two Bathrooms...

It's a short, sad tale...

This morning, I had to physically force my son out of the bathroom and shut the door, so I could get two minutes to myself to compose a text message without him trying to grab the phone. Even though  he was yelling and banging on the door, it was easier than trying to accomplish anything with him pawing at me. I seriously had a "What has my life become?" moment there in the bathroom. (Please, no comments about putting down the phone and spending time with my kid - I spend TONS of time with him, but sometimes, you just need a few minutes alone with the phone to get something done.)

Then this afternoon, as I walked into the bathroom before class, I noticed two of my female students standing in the hallway yelling at one of my male students who was in the men's bathroom. I simply shook my head and didn't even bother asking what was going on. However, those two students followed me into the bathroom and proceeded to tell me all about how the male student took one of their phones and wouldn't give it back. May I, for just one moment, remind you that I teach at a college? Another bathroom, another "What has my life become?" moment. I went into the class, got the phone from the male student and wrote this on the board:

I may be older than you, but I am not old enough to be your mom! Grow up!

 

Teaching is supposed to a small break from being a mom, where I can talk with adults, take two minutes to compose my thoughts, or heck, even go to the bathroom by myself, but apparently my high school completion students seem to have other thoughts.

 

17 more days...not that I'm counting :)

 

Now, I'm going to go make something pretty! Or go to bed...both sound pretty good right now.