BLOOMINGTON -- Pat Kohoutek, Joyce Jones, Dee Myers and Eve Zook take a step back in time almost every Thursday and, in turn, make it possible for generations to get a glimpse of the past.

The women donate their hand-quilting skills (and about four hours a week) to turn quilt tops into a complete quilt.

All of the money they make - about $10,000 over the past 10 years - helps fund education programs at the McLean County Museum of History, including the History Careers Day Camp, the Seniors Reminiscent Program at nursing homes, and the development of history loan-out kits, said Mary Anne Schierman, director of volunteers at the museum.

The women quilted a quilt top donated to the museum a few years ago and it made more than $2,800 in a raffle. The money was used to restore the Prestele prints.

"We so appreciate them," Schierman said of the quilters.

The women make their magic - thousands of tiny stitches that attach a quilt top to batting and backing - in the "Quilters" room on the third floor of the museum in downtown Bloomington. They use two quilting frames donated by Hudson resident and quilt frame maker Charles Engel.

"It's a wonderful way to make friends," said Zook, an 81-year-old

retired school secretary from Congerville who joined the group about 10 years ago.

"Quilting is a social gathering," agreed Myers, 80, of Normal.

The women didn't know each other when they joined the group, but they have become good friends through the more than 2,000 hours they have spent together over the years.

"We've shared the bad and good things," said Myers, the longest member of the group at 13 years. She joined after her husband died and she needed something to do.

"Everybody brings something to the table," said Kohoutek, 59, of Bloomington. "We've laughed and cried. There's so much we've learned from each other. There's no one in the world I would rather share with than these people."

Kohoutek recently told the group about her hiking adventure in the Colorado mountains. When Zook had an operation, the other three went to visit her. The friends also helped Myers get through the loss of her two dogs this past year.

Jones, 77, has shared corn from her farm in rural Saybrook and the women say they feel like they know Jones' husband, even though they've never met him.

While getting to know each other, the women also have finished two or three quilts each year - a feat that has made only a small dent in the two-year waiting list of quilt tops yet to be done.

Many of their projects come from quilters in the Hands All Around Quilt Guild of Bloomington-Normal.

"There's a totally different feel to a hand-quilted quilt," said avid quilter Anne Powell, who has hired the women to do two of her quilt tops and is on the waiting list for another. "There's something about the texture when it's held together by hand stitches. It's warmer. It's truly an heirloom."

Powell said she loves to make the top of the quilt, but leaves the finishing to someone else.

"I take pride in the fact that quilters from the guild want their quilts quilted here," said Schierman. "They know what the standard is. It's a compliment to our quilters."

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FYI

The McLean County Museum of History volunteer quilting group was started in the mid-1970s by Florence English and Margaret Bennington. Only one group of quilters has volunteered each week since then but a second group is expected to start in November. That will allow a quicker turn-around on the quilts.

"My best case scenario would be to have quilters every day of the week," said museum Volunteer Director Mary Anne Schierman. Skilled quilters can contact Schierman at (309) 827-0428.

To get on the list to have a quilt top quilted, contact Schierman. Cost is $100 for a baby quilt; $150 for a twin; $200 for a full; and $250 for a queen or king. The cost is expected to increase soon. There are additional costs for binding, marking, backing and batting.