Dear Maw.
If you are not already into knitting or crochet, please could you take them up, and then would you start a thread on beautiful (but ridiculously-priced) must-have yarns?
The thing is, I saw a pattern last week for the most beautiful scarf. I looked up the yarn it was worked in, and nearly fainted when it costs well over £50 just for one skein.
So far, I have been telling myself that there is no way I would ever spend so much on any yarn - my best-quality ones so far have been picked up in charity shops for around a pound. However, if you were to start a suitable thread, I could probably buy it, guilt-free, because it would be all your fault!