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. 😦

No seriously.

You’re not imagining things.

I recently pulled out Jane, a 1935 Singer Featherweight, and experienced a slight tingly feeling as I started to sew. After a few minutes, I swapped out the foot pedal/power cord to another modern one. Same thing happened again. Concerned, I set the machine aside, thinking something was wrong with the electrical wiring.

Later on, I researched possible causes and solutions to my tingly problem. Taking Jane to see Mr. Marc – the local sewing machine repair guy – is my last resort. I wanted to try to fix it myself first. You see, Jane has been my learning machine. Last year, I took her apart and put her back together at a Sew Purty Workshop. About the only thing I haven’t redone is to rewire the machine (because it didn’t need it).

VSM discussion boards suggested that re-inserting the plug the opposite way might solve the tingly problem, (look under October 2012 heading) but I needed to use a voltage meter to test the circuit to be absolutely sure. Could not quickly locate hubby’s voltage meter, so I went to HD to pick up an inexpensive pen-like voltage meter to keep in my sewing machine tool box.

Result: Turning the plug corrected the circuit and no more tingly feeling. Just for fun, I turned the plug back the wrong way. The voltage reader showed red all over the machine. Every metal surface of my sewing machine was now live and conducting a small amount of electricity. Once I flipped the plug the opposite way, everything was green again. If the voltage tester remains red regardless of which way I insert the plug, this means the machine has electrical issues that need to be addressed. Just to confirm what I’d learned, I repeated this process with a second power cord and again with my Singer 301A. Same exact thing happened each time.

Huh, what? I’m no electrician, but let’s see if I can explain.
Modern electrical plugs have one blade slightly longer/wider than the other. It’s a safety feature. This helps you know which way to insert the plug into the outlet to help keep things grounded properly. Vintage power cords and their replicas typically have two prongs that look identical, even though one side is still wired to function as the “grounded” (i.e. wider/longer blade) side. Keep in mind, however, that your machine will still work with a vintage/replica power cord regardless of the way the plug is inserted. That tingly feeling or your voltage meter will be the only way to know if you’ve inserted it correctly. Hint: Place a sticker or make a mark on the side of the plug that that has the “grounded” blade, so you’ll always know which to insert your plug to avoid that tingly feeling.

Grab a pool noodle and head to your local hardware store. Ask for 1/2″ Charlotte pipe – it’s a straight PVC pipe with 1/2″ INSIDE diameter. My pool noodles are from Dollar Tree. The diameter of the inside hole is 3/4″ wide. Your pool noodles may be bigger. Not to worry, Charlotte pipe comes in a variety of widths. Remember, though, that PVC pipe is measured by the INSIDE diameter, not the outside diameter. Hence, the 1/2″ wide piece of Charlotte pipe fits inside the pool noodle’s 3/4″ diameter hole.

Vickery Hardware in Smyrna, GA cut the PVC pipe for me to 9″ lengths (my preference – cut to whatever length you like). I marked the center with a Sharpie. I merely slide one pool noodle up to the mark, then twist the other side on to meet. The connector is long enough that I do not feel the need to reinforce the connection with duct tape.

Cost: $1.32!