PM360 recently spoke to Jenn Etheridge, Senior Marketing Manager, Genentech, about going on a quilters trek.
PM360: How did you first get into quilting?
Jenn Etheridge: My mother and mother-in-law are both quilters. I’ve always been a crafty person as well, but I tended to do more knitting. Then a couple of years ago, I was at a fabric store, saw a quilt pattern, and thought I’d try it—hoping it would be faster than knitting.
Do you have a favorite type of quilt to make?
I don’t have a favorite because I keep learning new techniques and each one is exciting. I enjoy doing piecing, which is when you sew edges together piece by piece then iron open the seams to reveal a pattern. I have also done appliqué and like the results. There are different ways to do it, but basically you use a sticky paper to transfer a specific shape or design, iron it on, and then sew around the edges to secure it. And then I recently tried foundation paper piecing, where the design is drawn on a tissue paper and you sew the fabric to the paper, which lets you get exact points and edges to line up correctly.
How do you decide on the patterns you use?
It’s what I see and get excited by. For example, with my Halloween quilt I saw it in my local quilt shop two or three times on display and I loved it every time so I finally bought a kit. Other times, I find a fabric first. For example, I made a baby quilt for friends out of this cute bundle I had with a “love you to the moon and back” motif.
You participated in a Quilters Trek this summer. Can you describe what that is?
Basically, a ton of quilting stores around the country participate and each store has their own pattern. In pre-pandemic times, you would have to go to the stores to get their pattern. Some people even do road trips to collect from participating stores. But last year, because of the pandemic, stores let you order their pattern online. So I looked at locations that meant something to me and I also joined a Facebook Group of quilt finishers to find patterns I liked. Then the first two people to bring a finished quilt to their local store win a prize. I lucked out and won 15 fat quarters for being one of the first and then another 15 for using my store’s pattern. That is enough fabric for two more quilt tops!
Of the quilts you made, do you have a favorite?
My favorite is probably the next quilt that I’m going to make, because there’s just so many beautiful options. In my queue already, I have an ice cream truck themed one I can’t wait to make, as well as plans for a rainbow patchwork quilt from Moda’s Blocks of the Week. So my next quilting adventure is always my favorite.
