Wow! One thing wool batting is the best for hand quilting.

Just FYI as having been there and done that with the exception of being so North. You will be very close to Russia. When it has been said that boat and plane are needed for supplies; they AREN'T kidding. PLEASE take everything with you as it is very, VERY expensive in AK. In addition, anything you purchase online will have an enormous shipping and handling added; that is IF they will send it there. Good Luck and take as much warm clothing with you as layering is the way to go. It is bitter cold there most of the year with below zero temps being normal and -50 degrees plus below zero the norm in winter.....10 months out of the year. Good Luck! P.S. Can't you stay where you are now and go visit? It's only two years correct? Just a thought. G

Shipping in rural Alaska
 

The best way to ship anything up here is Priority Mail, flat rate no weight restrictions. That being said any of the stores that ship flat rate can get stuff to you. Where exactly are you going to. May be able to put you in touch with someone in the area.

I watch Joann's sales a lot and especially when they have free shipping or little cost shipping it might take a little while but you can still use it even here in Alaska.

I wish the best of luck on your journey and hop you can get out on the internet and let us know how you are. Blessing to you and stay safe.

Any of the quilt stores in Alaska are happy to ship to people in the remote areas. We have a very talented and large group of quilters in this state. The best advise I can give you is get to know the people in the area you are going to. A friend of mines husband worked in St. Mary's as a village safety officer and loved it. He basically was adopted by some of the elders there and they made sure he was taken care of as he did them. If you alienate yourself from the people you will find it can be hard. There is a lot of tradition in that area and as long as you respect them, they will respect you. Will gladly help in any way I can if you need something sent. Just send a PM.

In this state we depend on each other and we make do or find a way. Yes it can be a hard place to live but as a transplant I can tell you it is what you make it. Enjoy it, the scenery, wildlife and people are one of a kind.

Sounds like a win, win situation to me. You can do anything anyone else can do. All it takes is the proper attitude. BTW, it sounds like the way I was raised on a farm in Iowa in the 1950's, and it didn't hurt us one single bit. Good luck.

Very best wishesmand good luck with your adventure !

Good luck in Alaska! I hope you are looking at it as a two year adventure....I would love to do something like that. Can't tell you what to buy. If it were me I would be sure I took plenty of fabric and thread, plus quilting tools. I hope you love your adventure.

Kat

I am really, really glad you posted more info about your job opportunity. It sounds like a wonderful experience for you personally and career wise. I think it's sweet your husband wants to keep some things of yours around. Not knowing him, but having worked with individuals with the same disposition (for lack of a better term)I think he might have a really hard time with the amount of change adapting to rural Alaska. But you sound like you'll be just fine. And you'll be able to touch so many lives, as well. Best of luck to you during this latest adventure!

I heard of a way you could take your stash and your quilts: use them for padding in the shipping boxes.

I'm somewhat envious and am one of those who think you are going to have A Great Adventure! Sounds like you are a spunky girl! :-)

I'm sure the company/clinic has advised you on everything you need to bring. I have a good friend who has had to move to the Dallas/Ft Worth area for medical treatment that wasn't available in Alaska. He lived there over 25 years and has such wonderful stories. One of my favorite ones was his shooting a grizzly on his front porch trying to crawl through a window into his living room. He said the bear tasted wonderful as it had been feeding mostly on berries.
After a few years his wife divorced him so she could move to the lower states. I guess not everyone likes Alaska.
After talking to him I would suggest you take a gun sufficient to kill a bear with, not just one for birds, although a town of 700 people ought to have someone else to take care of large animals in town - but I would personally want
to have my own and lots of ammo. And when you leave you can probably sell it if you want to.

I have visited Alaska - my in-laws moved there about 25 years ago - they live on an island and you must boat or fly in - the weather doesn't always cooperate so sometimes shipments can take a while. Everyone has told you about the shipping - Alaska usually cost more and when it says "Free Shipping" that usually doesn't include Alaska or Hawaii. My sister-in-law lived in Fairbanks for years - the most necessary item for those long winters is a light therapy lamp - I am sure you know about those - they can greatly improve your mood and help with those long winter months. The rest you will learn as you go along - there are many natives that will help you along - Good luck and enjoy your time in Alaska.

What is the name of the place you are moving to? I live in Juneau, Alaska and agree with the lady from Anchorage. There are ways to be able to quilt and meet other quilters. It would be fun to hear of your adventures in your new town or village.

Wait until he freezes his ars off and then he will want those quilts.

It does sound like a great adventure. I hope you'll be able to keep us posted along the way. I'm pretty much of a homebody who likes living uncomfortable and possibly risky adventures vicariously! As suggested earlier, a warm sleeping bag seems vital. Why not stuff it full of quilting supplies for the trip? Have a wonderful time! I hope you'll enjoy it immensely.

I enjoyed reading about your new journey/adventure. It sounds like you have a lot of skills that will come in handy up there and you seem excited and ready to go. Good luck to you and if you do have internet access, post here so we can keep up with you.

It was most enjoyable to read about your adventure. Your DH wants to keep things that remind him of you. That's marvelous. What do you plan to take to remind you of him? For 35 years, we've lived a-ways from "town". We always have "plan B" for times of no electricity, plenty of supplies on hand during snow conditions. Trips to town are kept to a minimum, especially with gas prices. We've adjusted to this situation, because we like where we live. Sounds like you're looking forward to the adventure, and adaptable to the challenges. Have fun!

I live in Kenai, AK--3 hours south of Anchorage. My son lives in Bethel. My Viking dealer visits Bethel for classes. I don't know if they have a fabric shop but she says there are a lot of quilters out there. I do not know where they buy their fabrics. I do know that a lady who lived about an hour drive from me used to own a fabric store and she lives in Bethel now. Hope you can meet up with some of these folks. Good luck with your move.

I think it's a great adventure that you are about to set out on and only wish I had half the courage to take that first step. There is a show called Air Alaska that my hubby and I watch whenever we can. The show is based in Unakleet but they fly all over rural Alaska including Bethel. You might be able to get some glimpses of where you will be if you can watch a few episodes.

I think what you are doing to help the kids up there is awesome. On the show they had to transport a casket of a young man who had committed sucided then went to say that 1 in 4 of their children will attempt and follow thru with suicide. That made me cry. If you have internet up there and find you need some quilts sent shoot me a PM I would be happy to send you one or two to help out your new community.

Tell the Tweeto's they have watchers in Houston :-)

Good Luck on your Adventure
Tammy

I see many posts here referring to Alaska as 'AK'....the O.C.D. in me has to make a correction here. The abbreviation for Alaska is 'AL'......I am very excited for you - this sounds like an amazing opportunity. Please keep us up to date on your experiences there!!

I am guessing that wool batting would let a needle slide like butter. Wool cloth is so nice to sew with; remember it is a natural fibre like silk and cotton.

If you ask me, you are one of the bravest souls alive! I hope you are used to cold weather and being isolated for weeks or months at a time. I lived in Winnipeg, Canada for a while and that was city. I have no idea how I might feel w-a-y out in the boon docks when snow is up to your rooftops. You'll learn to shop in bulk and keep firewood handy.

MamaHen,
I feel like you do about being prepared for the shock. I hope the money is worth the shift from civilization to no-man's-land. BTW, just one more downer--have you checked out medical facilities or prices of doctor's visits? A friend of ours who lives there says he has good insurance through an oil company, but there have been doctors who refused to treat him because of his age. The first visit for any doctor will be no less than $450, and at least $250 after than if you have to do follow-up. If you are on Medicare, forget seeing a doctor anywhere in AL. They do not take Medicare patients at all.

Will you have computer access at your new home? If so, at least you can stay in contact with the world. I take it you will limited on you items that are shipped for your use in Alaska. Take items that can have multi uses, that is what we did when my husband was in the Air Force and we were shipped to the island of Guam in the 1970's. I did take a small sewing machine for the time, and it got used quiet a bit. I also took fabric since it was cheaper in the states. Good luck, and keep in touch with us.

My daughter lives in that area, Napaskiak. He is site co-ordinator (principle) and she teaches at the school. They went first to Toksook Bay, then to Napaskiak. They have lots of "fun" stories to tell. Spend their summers down here. Can't wait till they come down permanently. Good luck on your venture!

I have dealt with Willow Bend Creations at Soldotna AK and think you could get supplies from them. By the way, Willow Bend Creations is having a free Webinar about lower back pain, put on by a licensed physical therapist. 8PM eastern time. Sign in a little early and get some good information.

Use fabric as packing instead of paper. I packed all my dishes and glassware that way the last time we moved.

suzyquilter
 

I don't hand quilt so I can't help you there, but I have machine quilted with wool, and it quilted like BUTTER! Good luck. ps. wool is definitely the way to go.

I do hand quilting and the wool batting is a dream to hand quilt.

Forgot to tell you about buttons. The beautiful quilts, robes, etc. I saw in Alaska were made with applique and many, many buttons. Looked like the old time pearl ones from shells and the designs were raven, totems, and often times red and black. I'll try to upload photos.

You are mistaken it is AK not AL.

[QUOTE=Debbie C;5858261]I see many posts here referring to Alaska as 'AK'....the O.C.D. in me has to make a correction here. The abbreviation for Alaska is 'AL'......I am very excited for you - this sounds like an amazing opportunity. Please keep us up to date on your experiences there!![/QUO
You are so wrong--Alaska is AK--those of us who live in Alaska should know---AL is Alabama. Before you correct others you should get your facts straight.

I recently finished a book, "Alaska Bound: One man's dream...One woman's nightmare" by Tammy Jones. It is a true story about the author's trials when her DH talked her into going to AK in March to build a cabin. It was a free Kindle download at the time.
Good luck on your adventure. Let us hear from you and please send pictures when you can.

Nancy's Notions have times--like right now when they offer free shipping. I take advantage of that.

My son and his wife live in Bethel. There are some very nice restaurants there. Think they even have some fast food places. They have never complained about the water and their clothes aren't stained. There is a large group of quilters there and they have made many friends.

One more point of interest - for such a remote area, Alaska is very technologically advanced. In visiting the lower 48 in larger areas (cities, etc.) I have found that we're pretty lucky on that score. Sure, because of the terrain we have dead spots for cell transmission, can't really get XM radio in our cars, and we're limited to slightly over 200 some satellite stations (not including XM), but we live with it, and they're improving all the time.
You'll get used to finding companies that ship free, or like Sheila says, call the company and have them flat rate it.
By the way, we're all planning one or two or more quilting retreats, and that helps keep us sane in the winter - having fun with our quilt sisters!!

This style of sewing/embellishment is specifically that of the tsimshian people, who are generally around southwest Alaska and north west Washington and Canada in between. Each segment of the Alaska Native population has a fairly unique style of native clothing which is still used for formal occasions and some casual occasions. The area around Bethel (and northwest) is primarily Aleut/Eskimo and as such have traditions that are wonderful and many are unique to them.

You sound like an awesome person! What you are doing is wonderful! They will be blessed to have you in their community, and you will have an unbelievable experience. I wish you all the best and hope you will be able to post now & again & let us know how you are doing.

As several other Alaskan members have said, we have a great quilting community here in AK. I have never done any research on this, but I'm guessing that given the population of the state as being a little over 500,000, we have more quilt shops per capita than any other part of the US...we routinely ship to the bush...we encourage and support one another...and we all understand the frustration of shipping quirks...but we, for the most part, stay here because in spite of some of the things that might be "less favorable", there are many more things that are more favorable...Tho the winters are dark and long, I wouldn't give up the beautiful snow and scenery - northern lights frequently - attitude of "we're all in this together" - and in the summer? well, the average temperature in Anchorage is low 70s and well, I could go on.

My special thanks go to those of you who don't like Alaska, or wouldn't move here, since it gives me space to live here and means that I don't have to live in Florida, Arizona, etc. Different strokes for different folks!

I just looked this book up on Barnes & Noble. It sounds like something I would enjoy reading. They don't have it in ebook form & the cheapest they had was $73! Guess I will be looking at the library. Years ago I read one by an actor who moved there with his wife. Can't remember his name, but I do remember his telling about taking his wife to have her baby (she was in labor) to the hospital on a snowmobile.