Ten days ago, hubs and I left on our long-awaited trip to Alaska. We flew into Anchorage and traversed the interior portion from Seward up to Coldfoot by car, train, small plane and tour van. We caught a red-eye flight from Fairbanks back to Atlanta via Seattle. We arrived home exhausted, but the trip was MAGNIFICENT.
We were in Alaska during “shoulder season” – the period between Labor Day and October 1st. Crowds are fewer in number and hotel/excursion costs are a little cheaper. The trade-off is not every attraction will still be open the later in September that you visit. The sweet spot seems to be the window between Labor Day and the weekend closest to September 15th. We found this particularly true for Seward. The quilt shop was one of the few retail shops still open (meaning not closed for the season) and there were very few options open for lunch. Anchorage and Fairbanks still had plenty of dining and shopping options still open; however, several attractions were in the process of transitioning to winter hours. Tip: research activities you want to do FIRST, find out their season start/end dates and then plan your actual travel dates.
After receiving quotes from tour companies for the land-only portion of the trip, I decided to DIY our travel arrangements. Yes, Alaska is an expensive place to visit, but this is a prime opportunity to redeem any travel rewards and credit card loyalty points you’ve been hoarding. Our total costs for the trip were less than half of the amounts quoted by the tour companies. The bonus? We were able to stay in nicer hotels, discover great local restaurants AND travel on our own schedule.
Anchorage, Fairbanks and Seward all have at least one quilt shop. You’ll also find Joann’s and Michael’s in Anchorage and Fairbanks, plus a bevy of independent yarn, needlework and craft supply stores. Seward is a popular cruise ship port, so I wasn’t surprised to discover Sew’n Bee Cozy offers lots of panels, fabrics and patterns with Alaska themes. There’s a lot of merchandise in a small space! I only had time to visit two quilt shops in Anchorage. Cabin Fever offers lots of batiks along with the usual Alaska themed quilty stuff, but also curates a selection of fabric and supplies specifically made/designed by fellow Alaskans. The two ladies working the day we visited were so friendly and helpful. Seams Like Home carries a ton of Tula Pink and Sue Spargo merchandise, plus an assortment of Alaska themed kits. Hubs and I both admired the vintage sewing machines on display in the shop. My favorite of all four shops I visited was Northern Threads in Fairbanks. It’s exactly what I imagined an Alaska quilt shop would look like – modern log cabin – with all the current fabric designers I like and a curated selection of Alaska themed kits, fabrics and patterns. With all the shops, I was pleasantly surprised to find fabric priced very similar to what I pay in quilt shops here in Atlanta.
Not all shopping was quilty in nature. Of course, we brought home the obligatory souvenirs for Grandma and Poppy as a way to say thanks for keeping Big Girl while we went on vacation. Which leads me to this ask of retail shop owners: if you are very passionate about your politics and display multiple LARGE signs/banners around the shop supporting your position(s), are you aware this is probably a HUGE turn-off to about half of your potential customers? I may be a tad on a conservative side, but I do keep an open mind. I wasn’t the least bit bothered by the sign on your door or the rainbow flag display at the front. However, the more I saw as I moved about your space, the less I wanted to support your shop. That’s why I quickly left empty-handed. 😦
Come Stitch With Me 