Student's afghan progress

Well, student purchased a skein of yarn - Red Heart Super Saver in Sage Mary. She has made a nice swatch, approximately 8 inches square. She loves the color pattern and the stitch, but feels the yarn is not very soft. Oh, have we heard this so much on the cplist! I told her to finish off the end, and run the swatch through a regular washing and drying and see if she liked it any better. In the meantime, I've searched some catalogs and websites and found that this color is also available in TLC Essentials. I think this is a much softer yarn. But, I can't remember if it's available at any local stores in this color. She may need to purchase a skein in a different color and work up a new swatch. If she likes this better, then she could feel confident to purchase the Sage Mary online.
By the way, we meet at the library for our lessons, but often discuss projects and progress at lunch on the day we teach. We have interested another adult in learning some of the stitches we're working on. She has good skills in a lot of basic stitches and makes some baby afghans.