There is a little over an hour of possible sunlight during the day, the temperatures run between 30 and 40 below zero Fahrenheit and women clamor for the fifty available openings for Quilting in the Snow, a 14-year tradition at Chena Hot Springs Resort.

�If they don�t sign up the first night we open for registration,� says Cheryl Schikora, chair of the 2002 Quilting in the Snow, �they don�t get in. Sometimes we even have a waiting list the first night.� You might ask why these women want to spend an entire weekend at the darkest time of the year at this natural mineral hot springs sixty miles east of Fairbanks, Alaska. Fun. They do it for fun. �They get away from their husbands, kids and household chores and sew for an entire weekend,� said Schikora who pointed out that after the stress of the holidays, many women look for some time to do something just for themselves.

Quilter Joanne Beele started the winter event with just a few friends but it quickly became an official function of the 200 plus member Cabin Fever Quilter�s Guild. It includes soaking in the hot tubs, getting massages and a �Tacky Plastic Glass� night sponsored by member Jan Digan, where the ladies compete to see who has the gaudiest, tackiest plastic glass, then they fill them with margaritas and continue sewing into the wee hours of the night.

Women team up to share rooms, stories, gossip and quilting patterns. They eat well and each year they learn to make a new wall hanging, quilt top or they are free to do independent sewing on a project they want to finish. Each woman brings her own machine and they set up in the Activities Center at the Resort. Special power cords are brought in to handle all the machines.

The winter season is the busy season for Chena Hot Springs Resort as many Japanese tourists flock to the Resort to see spectacular views of the Aurora Borealis. A few years ago while a couple of Japanese tourists watched the women all working and sewing on their quilts, one gentleman scratched his chin and turned to the other and said, �Sweatshop?� To someone that hasn�t been bit by the quilting bug, it might be hard to explain, but these women are enjoying themselves, they come to relieve Cabin Fever, to bond and to sew up a storm.

To learn more about the Cabin Fever Quilter�s Guild, contact Cheryl Schikora at (907) 456-1566 To learn more about Chena Hot Springs check out www.chenahotsprings.com

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Media Contact: Brenda Hewitt +1 (907) 488-1505 bhewitt@chenahotsprings.com