Do you knit in public? Was anyone offended/incredibly happy/curious that you were doing so?
I do, frequently. Various extended family members were annoyed by my knitting, because they thought I wasn’t paying attention to them. They assumed that I didn’t say much because I was knitting, when in fact, I’ve never said much. They just didn’t notice me because I wasn’t doing anything. That seems to sum up most of my knitting experiences, actually. Someone will notice and point out how crochet is a lost art, and most of the time I don’t bother to correct them. They don’t want to be corrected, and it runs the risk of starting an argument about what it is I’m actually doing, which happens more often than you would think. It’s not worth it.
Occasionally a kid will be really curious, and sometimes their parent will allow them to watch for a while and ask questions, but usually they shuffle them away and admonish them to stop bothering me. So far I haven’t had a stranger be offended, exactly, but I’ve been told I have too much time on my hands, or that the speaker doesn’t have the time/patience to learn. Most often, people yell out their shoe size or sweater size and insist I make something for them. I don’t know why they do this. Is it supposed to be funny? “Hey, person randomly sitting across from me for the next fifteen minutes! Yeah, you! Make me socks! HAHAHAHAH!” How is that funny? I don’t get it. Is it supposed to be small talk?
The Cranky-Faced Knitter 
Some of my students saw me crocheting on a break and asked me to show them. Over a couple of short lunches, we got a basic stitch. They were very excited. 🙂 I don’t mind crocheting in public because I Iike to keep my hands busy. If someone used that sock line, I would feak them out by continuing to hold eye contact while crocheting at rapid speed.
Haha! Yes, spread the knit/crochet gospel! Excellent. I’m definitely a fidgeter, too. I need to have something in the background to calm my mind enough to concentrate on what someone is saying, and not all the possibilities of their inflection, word choice, tone of voice, facial expressions and possibly significant pauses.
Unfortunately, I’m related to a few people who, once they’ve decided something, will grumpily ignore all evidence to the contrary. And you know what? That’s fine. I no longer feel the need to coddle people who refuse to listen to reason (or evidence, or explanations, or any alternatives at all).