by Jenny Lunnon

It has been called the new yoga'. Over the last decade hundreds of thousands of people in Europe and North America have taken up knitting as a relaxing antidote to the stresses of modern life.

It is something soothing and purposeful to do whenever one has to wait in a queue, or at the school gate.

Celebrities such as Julia Roberts and Gwyneth Paltrow can be found knitting on set, and many groups of friends get together to chat and knit a famous one in London is called Knitting Hill' while Oxford University has its own Knit Soc'.

Most of these new knitters are women, but some men have also taken up the hobby.

Azize Stirling, owner of Port Meadow Designs in Walton Street, Oxford, once dreamed of teaching train commuters to knit, to help reduce their palpable stress and frustration. She has taught her two sons the skill, as well as her daughter.

What is the special appeal of knitting, which makes it mildly addictive?

She said: "There is something rather extraordinary about doing small, repetitive things and having fabric literally growing out of your hands."

It does not suit everyone however.

"It comes down to whether people have enough patience. Some are not knitters by temperament."

Ms Stirling initially learned to knit as a child and knitting has been an important part of her adult life, as the proprietor of shops selling knitting materials, a knitwear designer, and knitting teacher.

Born in Belfast, she grew up in Canada, where she had her first wool shop, but has lived in Oxford for the past 20 years.

Starting in the mid-1980s she tried selling knitting kits containing her own patterns, by mail order and at craft fairs, but realised that she needed a retail outlet.

She opened Port Meadow Designs in 1990. With the decline of haberdashery counters in department stores and the closing of the Rowan shop in Gloucester Green, her shop now has the widest range of yarns, patterns, and needles in Oxford.

Knitwear today bears no resemblance whatsoever to the embarrassing and often itchy Christmas presents of yesteryear.

Whereas people used to knit clothes because it was cheaper than buying ready-made, the opposite is now the case.

Why people knit, aside from the therapeutic benefits, is to create luxurious and unique garments and accessories for themselves, or to give as gifts.

Hand-knitted baby clothes are still much-appreciated by parents if not babies for the work and care which goes into them.

Regarding materials, today's knitters are spoilt for choice. Traditional bright-flecked Irish tweeds have been joined by more exotic wools like angora; blends such as fine merino and cashmere, and cotton and linen; and unusual hand-dyed rayon yarns which resemble tagliatelle.

Port Meadow Designs also stocks a soft Bolivian alpaca in a range of jewel-like colours from Reading-based Fair Trade importer Artesano.

Encourage Ms Stirling said: "The change I've noticed is that people don't mind so much what they pay for wool. Children are now learning to knit with gorgeous yarns, rather than scraps of wool."

Most knitters start with scarves, and can feel intimidated by more complicated patterns. Ms Stirling is keen to encourage them to develop their skills further, and is currently designing a very simple jumper which should be within the reach of most beginners.

For people who do not want to knit themselves, Port Meadow Designs stocks a range of hand-made jumpers, cardigans, and scarves knitted by three freelance knitters. These can be made to order in different sizes and colours.

Because knitting has gone in and out of fashion over the years, it seemed sensible not to devote the whole shop to knitting materials, and so Ms Stirling also stocks a wide range of women's clothing, home furnishings, jewellery, gifts and toiletries.

Nearly all are hand-made and many are from Fair Trade companies, such as Chandni Chowk. It makes home furnishings and cotton clothes in India using traditional vegetable and mineral dyes, containing ingredients such as pomegranate, turmeric, molasses and even old horseshoes.

Like many proprietors of small, independent shops, Ms Stirling is concerned she may ultimately be forced out of business.

She said: "Market forces are against you. Rents and rates are pushing small shops to the wall. City planners don't seem to take any notice of this, and this is very short-sighted.

"As in anything, you need diversity. It will become a very sterile retail environment and push people into using the Internet."

This would be a shame, because one of the great things about small shops is the personal service they offer.

As I left, Ms Stirling was on the phone helping a knitter to overcome a small technical problem, something one cannot really expect from a customer services call centre.

Contact; 01865 311008