What a great kilt, and what a great story! So much of what you say rings true to me, the early morning quiet time at the computer, the Ebay kilt obsession, and so on.

I've never been fortunate enough to find a kilt that fits me in a tartan I like for a good price on Ebay, though I've searched "kilt" daily for several years.

I do have several kilt jackets and sporrans I've got for bargain prices there however.