Hands do the work of the heart
Jane Barcus sews pride into each quilt.
Jane Barcus and Pat Monthei create beautiful homemade items for friends and family.
By Rich Wicks | Guthrie Center Times, August 2026
Jane Barcus and Pat Monthei are residents at The New Homestead in Guthrie Center. Both have a hobby of creating beautiful homemade items for friends and family. Their methods are somewhat different, but their stories are similar in many ways.
Barcus says to take quilting one step at a time
Like many people, Jane Barcus found that after retiring, she needed something to fill her spare time. That situation grew when she became a widow. Since then, quilting has become not only her hobby but also a way to show care to her friends and family.
“After my husband passed away in 2008, that’s when I started doing this more,” Barcus said.
Most of the items Barcus creates are bed-size quilts or lap quilts. Occasionally, she makes other items, such as table runners.
Jane Barcus creates beautiful quilts, sometimes from scrap material.
“It’s a digital machine, and it’s fairly fancy. It’s a $6,000 machine, and it can do so many things. I use it a lot. It’s handy for doing zigzag patterns to give things a little flair,” she said. “I bought that in Ankeny years ago.”
Because of her years of experience, Barcus has become an efficient quilter.
“I’ve made some in about a week. It’s kind of like reading a book; once I start, I just can’t stop. I keep going until it’s done,” she said. Barcus added that she sometimes uses a pattern but often simply imagines and creates her own design for a particular quilt.
Barcus usually has several quilt projects in the works at any given time, and she spends much of her free time on the hobby.
“I’d say probably between three and four hours a day,” she said. “Sometimes a little more, sometimes less. Right now, I’m getting to the end of the material I have on hand to work with.”
Although the materials involved in creating a quilt can be expensive, Barcus prefers to simply give away her completed items. She has made quilts for her children and grandchildren. She also has nine great-grandchildren, so there are plenty of loved ones to make quilts for.
Barcus mentioned that she often uses purple in the quilts she makes because she finds it to be such a pretty color, but she tailors each quilt to the intended recipient.
When asked what advice she would give a beginning quilter, Barcus laughed and said to take one step at a time.
“Try something that’s going to be simple to do,” she said.
Monthei’s initial interest in crocheting was driven by financial need
Throughout her adult life, Pat Monthei has been crocheting, but the specifics of what she makes and why have changed over the years.
Monthei explained that her initial interest in crocheting was driven by financial need.
“I was 20 and expecting my first child, and I couldn’t work, and money was tight, so I started making these doilies and people just went crazy over them,” she said. “This was back in 1962. I sold them for $5 a piece.”
A large blanket crocheted by Pat Monthei.
“If you can crochet, you can make anything. Shawls, blankets, toys, small animals, doilies. I went through a phase when I made socks. It was a change of pace,” she said. “I’ve been doing it since I was 20, and I’m 85 now. I’ve learned a lot and made a lot of stuff and given away a lot of stuff. My children all own two or three blankets that I’ve made.”
Over the years, Monthei taught herself to knit as well. She explained the difference.
“Knitting is done with two needles, and you weave it together. Crocheting is just one needle; it’s almost a succession of knots,” she said. “I usually have one knitting project going and one crocheting project.”
All of that handiwork has also provided a physical benefit for Monthei. As any doctor or physical therapist can attest, the human body is designed to move. Knitting and crocheting have helped her in that regard.
“I enjoy it; it’s comforting,” she said. “I’m not someone who can just sit and watch TV, but I can if I’m keeping my hands busy. It helps with my arthritis. My hands work really well.”
Most of Monthei’s creations have been given away to friends and family, but she showed a large round blanket that she crocheted for herself in 2006.
“That is probably the nicest thing I’ve made for myself,” Monthei said. “I think it took me almost a year to get it done.”
Even with decades of practice, Monthei says mistakes are to be expected. She does not let mistakes discourage her.
“You just tear it out and start over again. Never get discouraged, because eventually, if you keep trying, you’ll learn,” she said. “It’s a wonderful hobby and it creates something useful.”
Monthei also proudly reported that her hobby has inspired younger members of her family.
“I have a daughter and a granddaughter who have taken up the hobby, and that’s pretty good, considering that a lot of people don’t do this type of thing anymore,” she said.
Monthei plans to keep knitting and crocheting as long as she finds it enjoyable.
“Years ago, I spent more time on it, but not as much anymore, but I enjoy it,” she said. “It takes me about a month to make a blanket, if it’s a big one. At my age, I’m not in a hurry to get anything done.”
Pat Monthei shows a crochet project in the works.
