Quote Originally Posted by MMorgan View Post
I am poor... (read single dad with two little boys that live with me...) AND I am currently unemployed.... for 60 bucks I was able to go out and get enough material (4 yardsx60 wide each of black and of green poly/cotton canvas and thread and pins etc etc) to do 4 kilts found me a NICE old sewing machine at a garage sale for 10 bucks and away I went....

So yea if your not afraid to jump in and do it yourself, you can have fun(atleast I have fun making new things and learing new skills) and not run yourself more into the poor house then you already are....

Now just to find a decent sporran LOL
I am also a single dad, though my two teens live with their mom, they are often with me and my shild support always comes first. It takes a huge budget just to feed my son!

I had to leave my job several years ago, due to my vision, and get by best I can. I returned to piping out of love, but realized it could become a, though small, source of income. Despite what some talking heads would have you believe, being on desability is not fun at all, and the child support I pay comes out of that. The problem, as with any entreprenureal enterprise, is it takes money to make money! People in the market to hire a piper expect a certain look, and that look is not cheap, and it has to offer variation.

Now, all that dribble aside, like many other's here I am sure, I have a champaign appetite, but a bottled water budget! That said, I have never once felt that anyone here pushed anything, or tried to make it seem as though your status depended on what you wore and how much it costs. I think most have always tried to offer help as far as finding bang for the buck.

We have become used to the cheap, mass maufactured clothing that we can buy at Khols or Target. Good, quality craftsmanship is worth it weight in gold, tends to be unique, lasts longer, and carries with it the unique energy of the craftsman, as well as it's owner.

Now, I don't need forty gazillion kilts, but there are things I do need, and want, that cost more and I have to swallow really hard. I just do what I can when I can. What's worth having is what is worth waiting for! I will always try to support those such as Matt, or Cavscout, or tyger, to name just a few. They, and the other independent folks contribute something special, and in this day and time, I am sure it is a struggle for them as well.

Heck, most of the cost of the kilt is the material, think about what the kiltmaker contributes in relationship to what they get for what they do!

JMHO
Scott