Hats and The Sisters of Dorcas

Once upon a time, long long ago, I belonged to a church that would occasionally announce that the Sisters of Dorcas* were collecting watchcaps to give to commercial sailors on foreign ships visiting the habour.

I didn't know how to knit, couldn't think who would teach me, and doubted I had money for the kind of yarn I'd like to use.

So I sat there, feeling sorry for the sailors' frozen ears and feeling bad that I wasn't doing my bit.

Therefore, learning to knit a hat has given me a sense of something being resolved. Spinning the yarn first is an unlooked for bonus.


*Why the name Dorcas? You might wonder, especially since the name Dorcas is a homonym for an insult that was popular when I went to school. But the name refers to a kind and productive woman who made clothes for the poor.

Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated in Greek is called Dorcas); this woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did.
And it happened at that time that she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her body, they laid it in an upper room.
Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, having heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him, imploring him, "Do not delay in coming to us."
So Peter arose and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the upper room; and all the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing all the tunics and garments that Dorcas used to make while she was with them. Acts 9:36-39 NASB

The Greek name Dorcas translates as "gazelle" and is a compliment. Tabitha is the name word in Aramaic.