Making

I am working on a birthday present for a lovely, lovely friend, using this rather fab yarn which was another bargain from my local shop - it's rather frivolous as it has sparkly bits..... I thought it might be hard to knit as it is made from several strands loosely bound together, but it's surprisingly easy. I got a new pair of 8mm bamboo needles especially for it - I can't bear metal pins now. What does everyone else use? Am I a knitting snob? I popped in to the local market on Wednesday and the ladies on the knitting stall were all using metal pins and acrylic yarn, neither of which I enjoy knitting with.
Anyway... the top is one that Eve's grown out of so will be used as part of the project too. Hope it turns out half as well as it looks in my imagination......