Not sure if this site has made it into the thread, but
USA Light & Electric is a great resource for DIY parts to hang fixtures. They have all of the parts included in a $30 to $40 hanging kit available individually for a fraction of the cost. For example:
http://usalight.com/zf-15z-832-i-gri...le-glider.html
http://usalight.com/ag-16-87-48-griplock-cable-4.html
Two of each of those are all I need to mount my fixture.