Desperate for the Clap

I have wanted to make a Clapotis for my mother ever since the Fall 2004 Knitty came out, cuz I thought she would find it useful for keeping her warm around the house while watching tv/knitting/whatever else. But, the original yarn called for in the pattern was way too expensive, so I needed to find a suitable replacement yarn. Since my mother is a regular reader of this blog, I am now going to document the subsequent quest for said replacement yarn in exhaustive detail so she (and everyone else) can appreciate just how ridiculously anal and picky and undecisive I can be.

My yarn criteria:
1) Must be handpainted/dyed. If I am going to be knitting what is essentially a very large stockinette rectangle I should at least be able to enjoy the colours. Plus I think it'd make the finished product more interesting looking. I refuse to buy boring one-coloured yarn for this.
2) Must be soft. The original Lion & Lamb is very soft and drapey, I will not settle for icky scratchy crunchy yarn that won't drape well. Basically merino or silk or cashmere.
3) Must not totally break the bank. I was thinking a price range of $50-$60. Difficult to do with the above criteria!

Her yarn criteria:
1) Must not be too multicoloured or crazy-looking (damn, those are my favourite kind!).
2) Preferably just ONE colour (argh, no way!).
3) If there must be colour variations, they should be subtle (ok, fine).

Here are all the possibilities I seriously considered and rejected for various reasons:
1) Lorna's Laces Lion & Lamb
2) Lorna's Laces Fisherman
3) Noro Cash Iroha
4) Manos del Uruguay
5) Cherry Tree Hill Silk & Merino DK
6) Fiesta Yarns La Luz
7) Artyarns Supermerino
8) various Fleece Artist yarns
9) Handpainted silk/merino yarn from Mystical Creation Yarns
10) Handpainted silk/merino yarn from eBay seller LotusBlossom
11) Handpainted yarn from Axelle
12) Yarn from Inspirations Yarn
13) Hand dyed yarn from eBay seller Sanfelipeysantiago

That's all I can remember right now. Anyway, today I finally found yarn that I think would be acceptable to the both of us, in Newbury Yarns. It is kettle-dyed merino from Malabrigo Yarns (colour 180, chocolate), and it is totally buttery soft. It is hand-dyed in subtle shades of pink, brown and a little bit of green, and while it is not ONE colour it is also not riotous and rainbow-y like I would have preferred. It is a lot like Manos yarn, except softer and cheaper per yard. I spent a very long time in the store trying to decide just which colour to get. I hope you like it, mother! If not, I will just keep the shawl for myself and you can make your own. =P