Bah Shopping Malls! Bah Impersonal Gift Cards!

All you need this season is two needles and a string

knitted christmas tree

Knit yourself a Merry Winter Solstice (Istock photo)

The holidaze are upon us. 'Tis the season for muscling through mobs at malls, nursing a Muzak migraine, and wondering whether Scrooge wasn't right after all.

It doesn't have to be like this.

Instead of mindlessly ka-chinging your way through the box stores, why not mindfully knit your way through the holidays?

What a concept! This year, you can celebrate the season by putting your feet up, learning a new skill (or honing an old one), making new friends and giving the ones you already have something unique that will make them think of you every time they use it.

A scarf. A shawl. A pair of mittens. A set of handmade washcloths. Even a "beer cozy." Yes, Virginia (and you too, Maryland and DC), knitting is for men. Check it out here.

According to the experts, there's still time to get creative.

"Big yarn. Big needles. Instant gratification," says D.C. yarn shop owner Marie Connolly.

Ideas and reasons to get you started

Looking for some quick and easy gifts to knit? Try these

Knitting your way through your shopping list can be a gifting trifecta:

Nationally, knitting is hotter than the chestnuts roasting over this season's open fires. The Knitting Guild of America, which charges individuals $27 a year to join, has seen membership jump from 9,500 in 2003 to 11,000 today, says spokeswoman Amy Campbell; over the same period, the number of knitting stores registered with the guild has more than doubled, from 234 to 459.

The Washington area has mirrored that trend:

Jacqui Rose, who founded the Woolwinders store in Rockville, Md. in 2001, had a similar experience. "Within six months, I had a 2,500-member mailing list," she says.

This is most definitely not your grandma's ball of wool.

Today's yarns can be multi-colored and spangled. There are patterns to suit the most funkadelic member of the family. And many of today's knitting enthusiasts used the latest in technology to promote their ancient craft.

"Everything I've done in this business has been because of the Internet," says Amy O'Neill Houck, a Washington-based knitting and crochet designer.

The Internet has become the chief source of information for many knitters -- Knitty.com is a popular magazine that only appears online -- but it has also provided the means for social networking. DCKnitting.net, info central for local knitters, traces its origins back to 2001. Michelle Strange says she saw Wallace Boyd's notice in About.com of his plans a knitting group at the Savory coffee house in Takoma Park.

"A hobby you can pick up quickly"

"At first, there were only two of us," says Strange, an editorial assistant at the Smithsonian Magazine, who saw Boyd's announcement and joined him for the first meeting.

Today, Strange says, about 25 people show up for the group's monthly gatherings. Moreover, the original group has spawned siblings. Strange estimates there are more than a dozen other knitting meetups that gather regularly in D.C. and its suburbs.

Area knitting mavens offer several theories for the craft's sudden popularity. "It's a hobby you can pick up quickly as an adult and do some amazing things before you get really good," says Rose.

There are also less tangible benefits. Rose, who has a degree in counseling, says it comes in handy at her Rockville store. "You can't believe the things come in and tell us," she says. Strange has noticed the same phenomenon at the Savory meetups. "We sit around knitting and talking and complaining," she says. "It's like group therapy."

One reason may be the repetitive, almost meditative quality of the craft, which makes it an antidote to the hustle and bustle of modern life. "Knitting requires patience to see a project through," Gonyea says.

Hmm. Something that is therapeutic and inspires patience. Sounds like just what Santa ordered for today's over-stressed, over-shopped holiday victims. Next time you feel a Muzak migraine coming on, don't reach for an eggnog. Grab your needles instead. You'll be making a friend a present and giving yourself a gift that could make for a happier, healthier New Year.