That's the wonder of woolies

There's a catch, of course - you'd have to knit it yourself but there are worse ways to while away these gloomy evenings.

And Cicely Launder would set you on the right path. She runs Rainbow Wools in Crook, one of only a handful of proper wool shops left in the region as we lose our skill and inclination to take up the knitting needles.

It's madness really. In America they can't get enough of knitting and it's one of the most popular crafts as knitters research old patterns and stitches and develop funky new ideas with wool. A hand-knitted jumper in the U.S. is a high fashion, treasured item and the Internet buzzes with enthusiasts swapping ideas and inspiration.

They also rate it highly as therapy, thanks to the calming effect of clicking away and the sense of achievement as the knitting grows until eventually you have actually created something.

This is a region which was famed for its knitters. In many of the Dales, women - and men - knitted all the time, even sometimes as they walked.

But now it's baby wool that's likely to inspire people to pick up their needles again.

"First time grandmas," says Cicely. "They come in for a few balls of baby wool and then seem to carry on knitting, for the grandchildren as they grow and also for themselves and other people."

Cicely took over the shop nine years ago and as shops close down in other parts of the country, she finds her customers coming from further afield. She looks at the notes on her counter, noticing "someone from Leicester, another from Preston". People who have family ties which bring them back to Crook find it so much easier to buy their wool there. There was an actress from Sunderland who was a regular customer for many years and Cicley spotted her on Grange Hill.

Not so many youngsters knit these days, possibly because they no longer learn from their mothers or grandmothers but also because they are too used to getting things instantly. They want to go into a shop and buy a designer label, rather than put the hours in knitting rows and rows of fine four ply.

Well if that's the case, Cicely has just the thing.,

"Wendy Vogue wool - nice, thick chunky wool that you knit up on great big fat needles. One of those sleeveless polo neck tops that they're all wearing on television only takes three or four balls of wool and you can knit a ball in an hour. Even a cardigan only takes about seven balls.

"There's no pattern, nothing complicated to follow and, because you can do it so quickly, you haven't got time to get bored. Best of all, they look really good and they'd get you knitting again. They've been very popular."

As well as knitting wools - everything from cheap and cheerful to expensive and wonderful - patterns and accessories, Cicely also stocks some tapestry kits. "They seem to be doing it in school now. Children seem to be learning more craft things, which is good. It gets them interested."

If you want something hand knitted but can't face doing it yourself, Cicely can usually find someone to knit it for you, though remember that delicate complicated patterns take a lot of people's time.

But paying someone else to knit for you misses part of the point - that great sense of achievement and pride when you have actually made something wearable and unique.

Maybe it's time you reminded yourself of how to knit or, better still, taught a youngster, otherwise the only place you'll soon find hand knitting is in Beamish. Or America.

* Rainbow Wools, Hope Street, Crook. The shop is closed on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Published: 11/01/02