To my dismay, it turned out to be a disaster encouraging my Mum to pick a pattern and going to the fabric shop with her.
First, she couldn't decide about the patterns, for the simple fact that she couldn't see beyond the fabrics already in the pictures/photos and had no idea when looking at a graph.
So, I took her to the fabric shop, thinking that picking her own fabric would be fun... the greens were "too green, too dark, too light" (don't ask) :shock: with too many leaves, dots...
We tried this a few times, but eventually I went and and chose the pattern and fabric myself. It's part way through, she's seen it and absolutely loves it. lol!
I now think about what colour the person likes and then let them have a surprise. I've not yet had one disapointed recipient.