I knit on the Metro several times a week, commuting back and forth to work. And at least a few times a month, someone comments on my knitting. Yesterday, it was a sweet older woman sitting next to me. I could feel her watching me for a while — I’m knitting a toddler vest, and I was knitting furiously, trying to finish the last two yoke rows before my stop. Finally she said, “It’s so nice to see someone knitting.” I put down my knitting and we had a nice little conversation until we both got off a few stops later. She had been a knitter once, though she said she had made mostly “just” scarves. (I told her that didn’t make her any less of a knitter.) But she said her sister was a very accomplished knitter, and that she was just so glad that knitting wasn’t dying out. I assured her that it was quite the contrary — if anything, knitting was in a renaissance, and she shouldn’t worry. It was such a nice exchange. And no, I didn’t finish the yoke rows.

I always find it interesting to hear what people say when they see people knitting in public. It reminds me of this story that I read on a knit blog a while ago; anyone who ever knits in public really needs to read it. The most interesting comment someone has made to me was when a man on the Metro told me he thought it was cool that I was knitting while listening to music on my iPhone — like blending the old with the new. I showed him the ruler iPhone app that I sometimes use in a pinch to measure my knitting, and he thought that was pretty spiffy too.

A few months ago, I was browsing in the DC/MD/VA Fiber Arts group on Ravelry, and I noticed a thread called “Spotted on the Metro.” It was fun — people were posting about other knitters and crocheters they had seen on public transportation, but were (for the most part) too shy to approach. Ravelers were also talking about their favorite kinds of projects to knit on the Metro, and that got me thinking about my requirements for knitting on-the-go. I always have a project that is specifically chosen as my Metro project, because it doesn’t require too much concentration. I like:

• Plain old hats on circular needles that I can knit without a chart or pattern.
• Simple socks. (Though WMATA could open its own knitting shop with the No. 2 DPNs that I’ve dropped between Metro seats. And sometimes Magic Loop isn’t any better, if your seatmate isn’t giving you a lot of elbow room.)
• Anything else that doesn’t involve charts, complicated instructions or more than one or at the most two balls of yarn.

Do you knit or crochet (or spin or stitch) in public, on your commute or anywhere else? If so, what’s the weirdest/nicest/funniest thing someone has said to you? And what kind of projects do you prefer for on-the-go knitting? Share with us by leaving a comment below.