What is there to say?

Last night I was out with a girlfriend for our weekly knitting date. We were sitting in the neighborhood working on our projects when a friend of hers walked by. They talked about work, and introductions were made. She made a couple comments about how cute we were sitting out knitting, and asked about our projects. My friend described her blanket plan and then she turned to me. It seemed like a normal enough conversation.

"And what are you making?"

"I'm working on some socks. I've just turned the heel!"

"oh... oh socks mean a lot to me."

"..." Here is where it turned odd, and continued to be speechless.

"A while ago, about 30 years ago, I was a political prisoner and spent every day knitting socks. And here you are knitting socks."

I had no idea where to go from there. What is the proper etiquette when your hobby has reminded someone of their days as a political prisoner?