Monday, June 11, 2007

Frogging sighs and a KIPping experience

This:

frogged kimono

seems to sum up my knitting experience lately. The stockinette BSJ, it did not work. I think I know why, and how to fix it, but for now? Rip rip rip. The baby kimono up there? Decided after knitting that I wanted buttons instead of ties. rip rip rip.

Frustrating, especially on a due date deadline!

But enough whining.

This weekend, I was out and about with Ms. Widget. Both Saturday and Sunday we were riding the T - Saturday to go to Pride and Windsor Button, Sunday to go get haircuts with the fabulous Leon. Both days, I knit on the train, since Widget was reading, and the haul from Quincy is long. Most of the time, knitting on the train gets curious glances or stares, sometimes, a rare conversation. For me, at least, it's generally a pretty low key reaction.

On Sunday, the train was nearly empty. There was a couple accross the car from us. When I pulled out the sweater, the woman stared at me for a few seconds, and then loudly launched into ranty story about when her friend made her learn how to knit, and how awful it was, and how the ugly sweater she made cost her so much money. Shooting dagger looks at me, she concluded with "It was absolutely awful! I have a life! I wasn't going to just sit around doing nothing but knitting!"

I just kept glancing at her, not even sure what, if anything, to say... she wasn't actually talking to me, and even if she had been, I wasn't sure there was really a response I could make to her.

What's the strangest reaction you've ever gotten to knitting in public?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, that was rather severe. I get the "Grandma" comment alot. Although tonight I was KIPping with my college age cousin (actually my cousin's son) and he thought it was "Cool!".

Siercia said...

Kat,

Yes, it was decidedly weird.

I might have tried to engage her in a conversation, if I'd not had Widget
with me. I wasn't up for things turning weird with her there.

Unknown said...

that is bizarre. she probably sucked at it.

i've never gotten such negative reactions. other than an older lady asking me why i would knit when i could buy the item (a classic reaction from someone who as a child probably had to knit for the family or the troops or something), most people remark that it must make the commuting time not seem like such a waste of time.

Anonymous said...

Well, that lady seems to have had a hornet's nest of issues, most probably with the friend who persuaded her. When I knit on the bus, sometimes people watch me, but I think it's either neutral or positive. One day, I was knitting while walking on Brookline Ave, and a construction worker or similar congratulated me on being able to knit and walk at the same time. He then launched into a fond reverie of his aunt teaching him to knit when he was laid up for a few months as a kid. It was really charming.