I have one of these embroidery stands and I love it! If your girlfriend doesn’t have a stand it’s something to think about. It gives me use of both of my hands when I work.
Also, gift cards. I can’t tell you how awesome gift cards are. That’s all I want for Christmas. My mother in law won’t listen because “they aren’t personal”. Yes. Yes they are. If I get a gift card to hobby lobby or Michaels and a card that says “I know how much you enjoy your art, let this gift card help replenish your supplies and help you on your way” I am ecstatic! What if I need 17 skeins of 216 and 3 yards of purple quilting Cotton? There is no way for anyone to know what if going on in the creative section of my brain and having a gift card means that when I decide I need something I don’t have to budget. I can just get.
I have and love both of these lap stands... On Etsy, go to the store HawthornHandmade. They make a great stand. It’s an “Embroidery Hoop Stand” Also on amazon https://www.amazon.com/Elbesee-Versatile-Frame-Suitable-Britain/dp/B00P0ZH8BY/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?keywords=embroidery+stand&qid=1570846872&sprefix=embroidery+stand&sr=8-8
It is this simple little lap stand from Amazon. I love how quick it is to take apart for packing into my carry-on for retreats!
I got the Elbessee lap / seat frame at the start of this year and have been really enjoying it. It was important for me to have a stand that would be flexible enough (1) to take either hoops, q-snaps or scroll frames, depending on how I wanted to upgrade my setup and (2) be able to be used on a desk or when I'm sitting on the floor or a couch. It is very easy to flip the piece around and access the back. On US Amazon it is $40 USD with free shipping, but not sure how it'll be for Australia.
If you're interested in this style of stand, there are a lot of varieties, like Nurge, which has a different top clamp style (and is currently going for $28 USD on Amazon). There are also some stands that have the hoop pre-built in, like this combo stool style lap stand -- this one would also be pretty easy to make by hot gluing PVC pipes to the inside of a hoop that you already have. I know a lot of people swear by the Edmunds floor stand but I have not personally used it (nor have the floor space for it).
This is the one I bought from Amazon
I have the same stand, got it here: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00P0ZH8BY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_eDMsFb88PM7CK
Elbesee Versatile Seat Frame Suitable For Up To 12" x 9" Made in Great Britain! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P0ZH8BY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_SyMsFb8EYXEZ8