Hobby/craft suggestions

How about cross-stitch? These can be bought online as kits or you might even be able to find some in charity shops. They come in different levels of difficulty, from beginner upwards; they're light so postage abroad would be minimal; they can be used as gifts e.g. greetings cards, book-markers, framed as pictures etc.

Islandmaid wrote: »

What a lovely thought

I would suggest a cross stitch kit, when I was pregnant with my eldest, during the last few weeks, I had to lay up a fair bit and bought a cross stitch set which had the pattern was printed, and all the needles etc were enclosed, as a first timer, it was very relaxing.

Edit : Yorkslass - SNAP

Obviously we're thinking on the same lines! :rotfl: I have a couple of cross-stitch Xmas tree decs that I did many years ago and they still get used every year. From memory, I think the kits cost about 50p each including the printed canvas, silks and frames; I bet they'd cost more than that now!

PasturesNew wrote: »

But - knitting's got a benefit that other needle-based crafts doesn't - you don't have to look at what you're doing if you don't want to. Growing up my mum knitted all our clothes - and she could knit away while watching telly, or having a conversation ...

You can knit in the dark if it's just a scarf!

DH doesn't "get" how I can knit and watch TV at the same time. But I don't let on it's only with fairly simple patterns.

A couple of other suggestions: Crochet? Or art therapy colouring books (colouring-in for grown ups ); these could be made into greetings cards, framed etc as gifts and you can get them in most supermarkets, even £ shops I think?

Grouchy – Of the two that you’ve given links for, I think the second one (the cute cat) would be the better of the two for your family member but, as you mention memory loss, I’m wondering if even this might be a little complicated for her? I’d be tempted to go for something simpler (such as the sampler-type you say she may have done in the past) as a starter just to see how she gets on with it.

These are the things I’d be looking for in a kit (preferably a stamped one):

Fabric:
Aida is best for beginners as it has regular woven blocks and obvious holes. 14-count is the most commonly used.

Threads:
Stranded cotton with DMC, Anchor and Madeira are the three main brands. They’re all smooth, easy to work with and colourfast.
Are the threads ready sorted or are they all in one big bunch? If the latter, they will need to be separated into the different colours before using (and I know from experience this can be a really fiddly job ).
Too many colours can be tiring on the eyes (e.g. several shades of blue that are very similar but hard to tell apart).

Needles:
A tapestry needle that has a blunt tip and larger eye than a regular sewing needle. For 14-count Aida it’s usually a size 24.

Stitches:
Does the design use only whole stitches (these are much easier), with maybe just a little back-stitch? Fractional stitches, half stitches and French knots are more suited to experienced stitchers.

Design:
Is it stamped onto the fabric (preferably in the same colours as the threads)? This is much easier to follow than a chart and having to count blocks in the fabric.

Does the kit include a hoop that can be used to hold the fabric in the stitching process (it helps to keep the fabric at the correct tension and thereby makes the stitching easier)? If so, it can also be used for framing and hanging the finished item.

Hope this helps.