Piecing and patching her way to first place


"Double Diamond Delight" earned Sirois a first place ribbon at the Big E. The quilt took the former math teacher several months to finish and uses a special borderless binding to keep it together.Reminder Publications photo by Courtney Llewellyn

By Courtney Llewellyn

Reminder Assistant Editor

WILBRAHAM What does a retired math teacher do?

She can substitute teach. She can move to Florida. Or she can use the skills she learned and taught to others for years to create works of art.

Barbara Sirois taught math classes at Minnechaug Regional High School for over 30 years and "graduated" with the class of 2002. She took up quilting four months ago and recently won several prizes for the works she created at the Big E in West Springfield.

"Quilting requires math skills," Sirois said. "You have to measure yards and cut at certain angles to create different patterns."

Sirois placed first, third and fourth in Division 16, Section A2 quilting, pieced/patchwork, all machine sewn. This was the first time she had ever entered a quilting contest.

Her first place quilt, "Double Diamond Delight," is a queen-size double-sided quilt with a special borderless binding. Sirois said it took her several months to piece together the front and the back. "If I had to estimate its worth, I'd say about $1,200," Sirois said. "Real quilts aren't cheap."

"Life's Journey" won third place in the competition, a double-sided queen-size wedding quilt.

"This was a wedding quilt for my nephew and his bride," Sirois explained. "The upper left is yellow and represents a bright start to their life together. There are many roads that they will travel before they reach the end of their journey. Some will be happy and some will be sad. As the colors change, so will their journey; hopefully ending on the bright orange, symbolizing a wonderful life together."

Valerie Morton of Quilts & Treasures in East Longmeadow developed the back pattern for "Life's Journey," which is made up of 120 different blocks and 240 different fabrics.

The quilt that earned an honorable mention was "Yesteryear: An Old Fashioned Sampler," in which Sirois used Civil War-era colors mostly dark hues, with floral prints and designs. This was a lap, or twin, size quilt.

Sirois' commitment to quilting is evident in the amount of time and money she spends on each of her fabric creations.

"There are 18 yards of fabric in a queen-size quilt," she said. "In the end, with fabric, thread, batting and assembly, each quilt costs about $500, plus the time it took to put it together."

Although she's only been quilting for four months, the former math teacher already knows the three key steps a quilter must do: pick the colors and patterns, sew the pieces together and make sure the points match, and the actual quilting or "putting the sandwich together," as Sirois put it.

She admitted she loves to quilt and will continue to do it as long as she can. If her dedication to quilting is as serious as her dedication to teaching math, her quilts may be on display and winning awards at the Big E for the next few decades.