Now I gone done it

[Alan H]

For those of you who attend the Games and watch the athletes, you might be familiar with one outstanding lass by the name of Summer Pierson.

Summer is a long-standing member of the USA Track Team, in the discus. She's also the three-time world champion in the Heavy Athletics, and while Adriane Blewitt beat her at Pleasanton and the Worlds this year, she's still the North American Caber and Weight over Bar champion. She is also, technically, a member of my Cardinal Highland Athletic Club...never mind that she graduated from Stanford in 2000 and lives in Arizona, now.



She's a monster thrower..



.....and a wonderful friend and a lovely, lovely woman.

And ------ I am making her next throwing kilt. It'll be Polyviscose, 5 yarder, machine-sewn in the Warrior tartan. Summer likes purple!

This will be fun. I think I can find matching purple soccer socks with white stripes to go with it..

[ctbuchanan]

An amazing young woman and clearly an incredible athlete. I think it would indeed be an honor for her to wear your kilt!

[KiltedKnome]

Way to go, Alan!

[Whidbey78]

Very cool. Congrats.

Just curious Alan...when you say "throwing kilt" does that denote a difference in the kilt's construction or is it simply a reference to it's intended use?

[Alan H]

Very cool. Congrats.

Just curious Alan...when you say "throwing kilt" does that denote a difference in the kilt's construction or is it simply a reference to it's intended use?

I just use the term loosely, it doesn't mean much. I used to throw in a USA Kilts Casual, and if Rocky would make the under-apron a bit wider (mine only came halfway across my frontside) I would be hard-pressed to come up with anything better than that.....easy care, easy on/off, lightweight, and actually has pleats that look like a kilt. A lot, a LOT of guys throw in Sportkilts, but I personally think that the USA Casual has the Sportkilt beat, hands down, though it does cost rather more.

I used to throw in a Gold Brothers Scottish National, but I "outgrew" it! I sold it to someone for $30, and now he throws in it. Now I throw in my polyviscose MacNaughton, muted 6-yard that I bought form a place on e-bay. It's made out of the same Marton Mills PV that Rocky uses, but this has a more traditional-styled buckle system. It's quite a lot like the USA Kilts Semi-Trad.

There are guys out there who throw in full-on tanks. They own one kilt, it goes to battle on the athletic field and also attends the Tartan Ball. I can't bring myself to do that, I know how easy it is to get pine tar 'tacky" and chalk and who-knows-what all over everything. Besides, Games in California are usually quite hot, and I don't want to be wearing 100% wool. I know, I know...wool breathes, wool is wonderful yadda, yadda. That's great, but the guys who tout that are not standing out there in front of a thousand people in 102 degree heat, sweat running down their face, trying to see where they're going with a 20 foot stick poised above their privates and their hands filthy with pine-tar. Talk about the Black Watch and the Seaforth Highlanders in India all you want, I'll stick to PV or 10-11oz wool/poly blends, thanks.

BTW, a lot of Pro's throw in Stillwater Standards....Kerry Overfelt, DanielMcKim...they wear Stillwater Standards. They also NEVER wash them or iron them and the things look godawful, IMHO....I say this even though I hugely admire Dan McKim, BTW. The Acrylic is hot as the dickens and it is emphatically NOT a toss-it-on, yank-it-off-and-throw-it-in-the-corner kilt. You've got to be nice to a Stillwater or it looks awful. I love Stillwater, used to own two of 'em, but I do not recommend them for the Heavy Athletics.

"Throwing kilt" to me just means a lightweight, 4-5-6 yard kilt probably made of PV, and probably machine sewn, to which the wearer is not so emotionally attached that they will be devastated if it gets torn or gets pine tar all over it.

[Alan H]

If I were to recommend one commercially-available kilt to a new thrower...a kilt to throw in that will look good enough to wear around town, it would be the USA Kilts Casual model.

Not a whole lot of athletes show up at the Annual Caledonian Club Ball. Don't wear a USA Kilts Casual to that sort of event. But on the field, the Casual model is the schiznit...you can't find a better value for your money, unless you have someone (or learn how, yourself) make one specifically for you....and Rocky and Kelly make each one to your measurements!

You can also hike and backpack in it....I've done it. The USA Kilts Casual model really is a good deal for the $$ and if you can bring yourself to wear a $200+ kilt on the field, then the USA Kilts Semi Trad is hard to beat. Going "up the scale" from there is just asking for heartache, IMHO.

[Whidbey78]

Thanks Alan. Always good to learn something.

I can see your logic in selection, and agree that a tank would not be my choice in the heat. Nor would acrylic...too hot. I have one USAK casual (2 more on order) and one SK. They're great for hiking, camping, yardwork, etc, so I think they'd be my choice for chucking bug sticks and large pieces of metal. To each his(or her) own, but I can't fathom a tank in triple digit heat when there are alternatives. I think many of those Scot soldiers would have chosen PV had it been an option just as Wyatt Earp would have carried a Glock and worn a kevlar vest had the tech existed in his day. But I am not what most would call a "staunch traditionalist."

Congrats again. It's an honor to have a world class competitor ask for your gear.

[Alan H]

The PV is here, it's cut out and the pleats are laid out. I even started machine-sewing some of them in place this morning. The pleats which end in the very strong contrasting white stripe will have to be hand sewn, the machine stitching is much much too obvious on the stripe.

This is a 16 inch long, "sit on the hips", 6 yarder with 24 pleats, pleated to sett. Yes, she has the legs to carry it off! Even though it's for a woman, I decided to build it with a closure on the right side.

The leftover stuff will make a fine box-pleated knee-length skirt for my friend Sandie, in Washington. That will leave a 6-yard long, approximately 12 inch wide piece. Hmmmmmmm...... what to do with it?

[Detroitpete]

You sir, are a very brave and talented man! Our best to Summer for this year from those of us in the Midwest!

[Alan H]

You sir, are a very brave and talented man! Our best to Summer for this year from those of us in the Midwest!

I measured her at the Ventura Games, and completely forgot to measure the length of the kilt. Chalk it up to being up close and personal with Summers backside! So we've been back and forth about it for a while on FB. I finally got her to measure the Lindsay that she's been throwing in, and that was 17 inches long. Since this one will sit lower on her hips than the Lindsay, she said she wanted 16 inches.

OK, girlfriend! You get what you want!