Saltair is such a small hamlet that it isn’t on most maps, but there are many significant places with a rich history in this little unincorporated town. We marvel at our surroundings. The beauty of the ever-changing water, meadows and mountains is breath taking.
In the fall of 2016 some members of the Saltair Community Society suggested that it would be nice to do something special for Canada’s Sesquicentennial Celebration. Among other ideas, someone asked me if I would head such a project and create a quilt that would portray the area and celebrate this special occasion.
It had been a dream of mine for several years to create a quilt that would help represent this small community in a worthy manner and let people know about a unique way of life by those of us who have come from far and wide to live in this pristine setting. I have been a part of this community since 1975 and love how people interact and celebrate each significant holiday with each other.
Our newly created Community Centre became the perfect place for a small group of quilters to meet every week. They agreed to contribute their talents to this massive project. We called ourselves “The Saltair Quilters”. The work began in November 2016 and that is how my dream became a reality.
After putting this wonderful art project together I spent a total of 64 hours quilting it. I want to make special mention of Mary Chudy from the Crofton Quilters who created and contributed the organza leaves. Then my friend Bronwen Cossey serged the quilt panels and the borders. The Saltair Quilters spent a happy day attaching the leaves in a way that represents the falling leaves of autumn and the passing of time.
Did you find the Big Rock and Stocking Creek Falls? Look for the Old Plantation and the Station House. What about the Saltair Pub and Porter’s Dairy? There is the entrance to Diana Park and not to forget the Coastal Messenger, the ship that has been sailing these seas for many years, bringing the Good News wherever it docked. Then there is the Davis Lagoon Bridge, without which it would be impossible to access Saltair from the north end.
To those of you who have lived in this unique community for many years and also to those of you who have found this hamlet more recently and decided to call it “home”, we are thrilled to present this quilt.
Christa Stegemann helped organize the Saltair Quilters.
