Virtual Stitch 'n Bitch

I knit over my lunch hour, and while struggling through my first lacy shawl, a cow-orker stopped by my desk and commented dryly that I wasn't making much progress, was the shawl for a doll?  (I had started over.)  Then when I finally finished it, she conceded I did a good job, but it looked like it pained her to say so.  I just smiled and said, Thanks, even though I was mentally sticking pins in an imaginary voodoo doll.

i don't blame you some people are sooooo rude >:(

I really don't understand why people feel the need to make snide comments. I agree - incredibly rude.
Jen

Knitting pin/needle I hope ;) !
Some people are rude no matter what hobby you're into. I'm a (wannabe) 3D Modeller and an Extreme Card Manipulator. In both I get rude comments or "put downs" by laymens. With time I learned to make the difference between a constructive comment and a rude/pity remark. I just tone-out the remarks now.

I just chalk it up to someone who is insecure and has to put other people down to make themselves feel better. Doesn't excuse their rudeness, though.  I've learned to ignore people like that. 

A lot of men don't understand the craft of knitting or crochet. It's quite often associated with gay men, even though there are plenty of straight men that do either craft.

I let them think whatever they want. It's them that's going to feel uncomfortable if my girlfriends comes in and gives me a big kiss  ;D ! I really don't mind what others think of me now. With the years (the few I have behind me :P ) I learned to just do what I like regardless what others think. Isn't that the whole point, doing something you love?

Recently, some of the rude comments have bordered on hostile, as though my knitting or crocheting an afghan instead of buying one is threatening.  Their comments say more about them than about me....

Very true.
I've gotten much more of a positive response when it comes to my knitting. (I generally bring my knitting with me wherever I go-it's become an ice breaker!) The positivity that I have gotten has actually encouraged me to become an even better knitter!

Yeah, I've generally got comments allong the lines of "Ooooh, will you knit ... for me?
And unfortunately I have to say that there is a queue, but maybe.
If I like what they want me to knit/crochet them and it looks fun to do they have a much greater chance of it getting done than just requesting something big, or stupid.

Better yet, offer to teach them to knit- or crochet- themselves! I think it's fun. I've taught quite a few of my friends and aquaintances to knit- it has actually stuck with a few and now some of them are as addicted as I am!

I did that to a friend of mine :)
He kept on going on and on about me knitting him pink legwarmers (long story) and eventually, I got two pencils out, and I cut of a bit of the yarn I was using and taught him the knit stitch.
He hasn't continued, but now when he asks me for them I can just say "You know how to knit - you do them, and I'll help you if you get it diabolically wrong."
Although some of my friends still do knit after I teach them a little bit on whatever I'm knitting. But I couldn't teach this particular friend on my current project because I think I was doing ribbing or something.

Same thing with quilting (which I also do).  I thought it was so cool when my husband (who's in the Navy) told me his commanding officer quilted, and he was teaching his sons! 

shes probably very jealous.  u can do something that she cant haha. :)

I remember bringing a beautiful purse that I had knitted and crocheted with some Rowan yarn. My boss at the time made a snide comment, "well, at least it doesn't show the cat hair as much." I had to chalk it up, because she was a total bitch anyway, and that was one of her "nicer" moments because she was abusive in general. Everyone else loved it.

People who give backhanded "compliments" are just parading around their inner jackass for everybody else to see. It's a reflection on them, not on you.

I was at my stitch n' munch a few weeks ago, and we actually had people come up to us and ask us all sorts of questions about what we were doing. We were more than glad to answer. They wer e curious about our little group and why we were doing it. One lady said that you don't often see people kip much! She said it's become a lost art, and she really gave us kudos for doing what we were doing! How cool is that?

I think knitting and crocheting are starting to become more social activities. Where I live, what my group does is embraced! The regualrs at the local Panera Breads even miss us when we're gone!

I knit under the beer tent at the company picnic.  The next day, I had this "conversation":

Cow-orker:  You looked so funny knitting at the picnic!

Me:  ???

Cow-orker:  I don't know - it just looked funny!

June 14 is Worldwide Knit in Public Day (WWKIP).  Let's get out there in force!

DAMN! Did she think that you had better things to do? (It kept you from wanting to kill people you didn't like. That's a plus!)

She wishes she had a cool hobby that was actually functional.

Agreed.

Another comment I get frequently is, "I don't know how you can stand to do that!"  I don't know how people can watch tv or sit through boring meetings without having something to do like knit.

OK, this one can't be called a compliment even in the backhand way, but I thought I'd share...

During some recent travel while waiting for a connecting flight, I sat down in a semi-crowded airport seating area and started knitting.  A 20-25ish year old guy sitting a couple seats over looked at me, then looked at the 2 other women nearby who were in the midst of a conversation about something that I would classify as intelligent/somewhat nerdy (nerdy women rock!), then back at me, then back at them.  Then he said, "Pfff!  I picked the wrong place to sit down!" and got up and walked away.   WOW!

Wow is right. What a jackass! He just missed out on three potentially amazing women. I think a lot of young men are intimidated by women who don't follow the norm. I wish more women weren't afraid to be real individuals.