New member - kiltmaker and kiltbook author

[Rob Wright]

Welcome Barb 8)

ROb Wright

[akaussie]

G'day from Australia Barb, I too have your book on my wish list. I have found a shop up in Quensland that has it. They want $90 aud for it . I can get it from celtic dragon press for $38 aud plus shipping. so will probably order it after christmas expense has gone.
Cheers Andrew

[beerbecue]

Welcome Barb,

Am going to order your book! Thanks for all the wonderful incite you have posted thus far.

I see that you teach in NY state. I hope to be there myself next year teaching some form of molecular microbiology.

Looks like my wife and I will most likely be in the Hudson valley area (she is from Finger Lakes region originally). Nice to see there is some Scottish culture in our future home state!

[richardljohnson]

I thought your name rang a bell! Got the book last year and was thinking about going back and trying to make a traditional, AGAIN. I started a hand sewn last year but ran into problems. My problem is being left handed so the kilts I've resorted to are machine made...AND nontraditional. Nothing wrong with them but I have had a desire to make a hand sewn 'tank' myself.

Great book by the way!

Now I've got the 'stiring' to start back.

Richard-

[Barb T]

Hi Richard

You might want to send an e-mail to Steve Ashton of FreedomKilts - I gather from a post he made a couple of days ago that he's left handed, and I'm sure he can give you some good advice on kiltmaking for lefties. Since I'm a rightie (not politically-speaking, however....), I haven't experimented at all with left handed methods.

Let me know what you find out!

Barb

[Mike n NC]

Hey Barb. Nice to meet you. As we say down here; "come on in, take yer shoes off and sit a spell".

I've enjoyed reading your posts and look forward to more.

Mike

[Riverkilt]

Hey Barb,

Your book arrived yesterday - that was FAST!...I'm almost getting used to jonesing for ANYTHING that has to do with kilts.

Had a chance to glance through it after work last night before I stumbled into George Carlins HBO gig and lost my mind.

Don't know that I'll ever risk cutting and sewing a kilt, but it sure is great to have the knowledge and understanding...and all them definitions. But who knows, my minor 40 years ago was Clothing and Textiles.

On the geology front. One of my maternal uncles was geologist George Burke Maxey who has the Desert Research Institute named after him at Univ of Nevada. He came out of Princeton then spent a lot of time at Univ of Illinois before settling in Nevada. I'm still close to a lot of his kids, my cousins. He was a hell of a guy and knew his geology well to get to be a big shot. Think a lot of his work was around underground water for the AEC when they were blowing up nukes near Las Vegas.

[bubba]

Riverkilt, if you do decide to try making a kilt get some inexpensive plaid fabric from the bargain table at the fabric store. I've found some nice wool blends and polyester blends at Hancock Fabric in the 13 to 15 oz range that work very well. That way if you make any mistakes you aren't out very much.

[Riverkilt]

Good idea Bubba, thanks. I'm out in the remote canyonlands of Arizona. Its 145 miles to Flagstaff. We do have one of those small WalMarts with a fabric department. I've seen some plaids or tartans there from time to time. Saw in Barbs book that I gotta be careful to see the pattern is a real tartan. Gonna be down there today doing chores so maybe will wander over and take a look...me in a kilt at the fabic counter with all the Navajo ladies...is America a great country or what!!??

Ron

[bubba]

Actually, any tartan style pattern will do. My last kilt looks like tartan but isn't a registered sett. You can figure on your first one being a learning experience anyway and will have mistakes and you probably won't want to wear it except for doing messy chores. That happened with my first one. I just wear it for painting, cleaning carpets and stuff. I've found I enjoy making my own kilts and each one is better than the one before it.