Grati-Tuesday 25 September

Business Announcement before the thank you messages.....

OK people, we have managed to secure a second tour of the Australian War Memorial.   Get in now if you want to join in the tour people. 

And if you are new to Aussie Heroes and are coming to the weekend in Canberra, I hope you will join me for brunch on the Saturday morning.  I hope to get a recipient or two along as well.

Now enjoy the messages from this week.....

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Good Morning Melissa,

Thank you heaps for the Aussie Hero Quilt you made and sent it is awesome. I absolutely love it, and I know that when I get home it will be claimed by my 11 year old son in no time.

Please find attached a photo, and thank you again. It is great to know that when you are away from all your loved ones that people back home appreciate the sacrifice we have to make.

Kind Regards

Hi Sandy,

Thank you so much for the wonderful quilt.  I will cherish it forever.  I plan on taking it with me everywhere the Army sends me.

My wife is pregnant and we are very excited to meet our first child.  Maybe one day I will pass your quilt onto him.

Please thank you team, Bev and Mary, your support brightened my day.

Please take this small token of my appreciation.

Sincerely,

.....

Dear Hilary T

I am writing to thank you for the laundry bag that my partner received recently.  She is currently on deployment on HMAS Canberra.  The ship has pulled into Darwin for a few days and I have come up here to see her. 

One of the first things that she showed me was the laundry bag that she received on the ship.  She had the opportunity to select which one she wanted, and she chose one with cat material as she said that it reminds her of her pet cat at home. 

It's been very hard for her and her fellow sailors to be away from home for so long,  and it means a lot to her that lovely people such as yourself are supporting them on their deployment.

Thank you for your kindness, and good wishes to your son who is also proudly serving our country.

I have attached a photo below  so you can see how happy Tracy is with her new laundry bag! 

Kind Regards

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G’Day Jenny,

The laundry bag you have made is amazing.  I love the Aussie flag touch, and my initials are as clear as day.  No longer will I have some random person checking the machine because the laundry bag looks like the others sold on base.

My two oldest sons of 8 and 6 would to stuff it with toys, and pretty sure my youngest son of 1 would like to use it as a blanket.

I don’t have to worry about my wife using it because I do all the washing on laundry when I am at home.

Thanking you so very much.

Regards,

.....

Dear Jenny,

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

I really really loved the quilt, don’t worry, I thought the sewing was excellent!  What a special gift!  You truly made a quilt that suits my personality.  I received it two days after my birthday so it was a magical surprise.

I am currently working as the only nurse in a small medical centre.  

Us nurses share a special bond.  I miss the nursing “tea room chats”.   So your gift really made my day.  Even more so because it came from another nurse. 

I have been in the army for 9 years.  I teach nursing officers now, army, navy and airforce.  I love it!  I have sent a pic of my small medical centre and one of my lovely patients.

Your gifts to us mean so much!!  The next nurse due here is male so he might not enjoy the pattern as much – lol.

I hope to keep this quilt for MANY years.  

I wish you all the best.

Take care,

......

Hi Jenny!

I couldn’t find any thank you cards here, but I wanted to say thanks for making me my laundry bag!

I love the blue and am a massive fan of the Dr Who fabric – it’s also great having my initials on the bag.

The other great thing about it is that everyone is jealous of it.

Whoo hoo!  The snacks all went down a treat, the parcel arrived just as we were about to have a movie night so everyone appreciated sharing them.

It is really great being so far from home and knowing we have support. 

Things like the quilts and bags are a beautiful gesture, they provide something to smile at, look forward to and something that is a keepsake from our deployment.

Thanks again, I am so grateful.

All the best to you and your family.

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Dear Jenny,

I recently received the incredible laundry bag that you made for me, I absolutely love it!  I can’t believe how well it came out, and I am blown away by your amazing work.  I wish to thank you so very very much for the very kind gesture that you have made.  I am currently serving with the Royal Australian Air Force in the Middle East Region and am deployed as part of the Security Detachment supporting the Air Task Group on Operation OKRA.  To receive my quilt from you is very comforting; knowing that you are being thought of and supported.  I thought I would tell you a little bit about what we are doing.

Whilst it is hard being away from family and friends, especially over holidays and family occasions such as Christmas and birthdays, we have very good support and activities planned that allow us to look after each other and keep morale high.

Thank you so much again for my amazing Iron Maiden laundry bag.

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Jenny,

Thank you and AHQ for all of the wonderful work that you do for serving military personnel!

Special thank you to you personally for my awesome laundry bag!  I can assure you that all of the boys I work with were jealous!

I love turtles and plan to purchase a pet one when I return from deployment.  I think I will call him Larry.

Also, thank you for the treats you sent as well, you seem to know my taste in lollies and chips.  Hopefully they don’t find my stash and eat it all on me!

I hope that all is well at home, and know it’s an honour to be serving this great country and people such as yourself.

Looking forward to returning home to the cold!

This hot weather is getting terrible over here!

Thank you again.

Kind regards

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Good afternoon Ma'am, (Jenny R)

I'd like to thank you for the laundry bag and the letter you attached.

Aussie Hero and Quilts visited our ship the other week to hand out laundry bags to ships company and we all loved them.

I can assure you, your sewing skills are first class! Mine looks awesome!!

I really do appreciate your time and effort and I'm sure the rest of the Defence Force do too.. 

Thank you again,

.....

Dear Jenny,

I am writing to say thank you for your beautiful laundry bag.

I am a scuba diver, so I love the blue colours that remind me of the ocean and all the lovely fish.

It is especially nice and cool when you are in a sandy desert.

.....

Dear Jenny,

I received a handmade quilt and laundry bag from you back in August this year.  I am writing to say thank you and express my gratitude at receiving such an amazing quilt off you.  It is an amazing gift and has really brightened up my room and helped to add some character, making my bedroom a bit more homely and welcoming.

I really appreciate the effort that has obviously gone into making the quilt and laundry bag, it is something that I will treasure for many years to come.  Once I return home I will find a special place for it and keep it only for display.

Aussie Hero Quilts is an amazing organisation, and I know from talking to the soldiers deployed here in Afghanistan currently that they really appreciate receiving the quilts and laundry bags.  I commend you for being a part of such a giving organisation and contributing to Aussie Her Quilts.  It really does help to make the deployment a little bit easier when you receive wonderful gifts every now and then to brighten your day.

Again, thank you so much for my quilt and laundry bag.  I really do appreciate it and appreciate the effort that has gone into making them both.

All the best,

......

Dear Jenny,

Thank you so very much for my quilt and laundry bag.  I am blown away with what you do.

They are both beautiful, and I will cherish them always.

Thank your niece for her help with them too.  The treats were also a lovely addition and well received.

Thank you again for all that you do.

.....

Dear Georgina,

Firstly, thank you so very much for the amazing quilt you sent – I absolutely love it, and could not be more thrilled to receive it.  It is perfect and I love how colourful it is.  You’ve done an amazing job and I’m so grateful.  It’s so lovely to know there are people at home thinking of us and wanting us to have a little piece of Australia whilst we are here 

Please thank your mum for passing on the beautiful bright fabric in the quilt also.  It’s perfect, and it fits the quilt so well.  It is so nice to know that so many people care so much and want to make our time here the best it can be.  Even the cat!  I don’t have any pets (a two and a four year old is enough for now!), but I can imagine they had a great time annoying you whilst you sewed.

I have seen how cool it’s been lately in Canberra, and I must say, whilst it’s been the total opposite here and almost unbearably hot, I’m thinking the cold might be worse.  I’m a little concerned about how cold I’m going to be when I come home on leave next week actually.  I’ll have to rug up!  I might have to bring the quilt home with me – I think I’ll need it just as much at home!

Thanks again so very much for the lovely quilt and the minties, I absolutely love the quilt and the minties are a fantastic treat.

Take care.

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Hi Heather,

Thank you sooo very much for the amazing quilt and the bonus gift of the Broncos footie. I was soo completely surprised and extremely humbled by these and the extra gifts in the box - not sure if so good fro my waist line.

I will  definitely be dropping past to give you my personal thanks on return as after all of my deployments this is my first and most treasured gift from the Australian community. The work that you and all the other do is nothing short of amazing and received by a very thankful group of guys and gals.

Again thank you - you and the Aussie Quilters are amazing and truly define the Australian culture and the reason why in is so important to defend and retain the freedom and friendship that that makes us who we are.

......

Hello Ruth 

I am a new to service Chaplain in the Navy Reserve. Jan-Maree passed on your laundry bag to me this afternoon after we returned from a short deployment exercise on HMAS Choules. Given the washing I returned with it was a timely yet more significantly heartening gift. I have done some quilting myself and know the time and care that goes into the making of the bag and so I wanted to express my appreciation for your thoughtfulness. I hope to perhaps engage some in the West, as I am from Perth, to perhaps participate with the contributions of Aussie Hero Quilts as I believe it is a great recognition of our service men and women and all that they and their families offer on behalf of us all. 

Kind Regards

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Ruth,

I am writing to thank you for the laundry bag which you made which I received today. It looks amazing and is the perfect timing, my current laundry bag broke a week ago and I have been desperate to get a new one so I could drop off another load of washing.

It is always nice getting mail while here as it helps you stay connected with back home especially as I draw nearer to the end of my tour. The only difficult part really is being away from my family for so long, and I think it is even harder on them then it is for me. I have really learnt to appreciate my partner and how much work she does looking after my children. My 3 year old daughter in particular has really had a difficult time understanding why I am away. 

I hope things are going well for you back in Australia. 

Once again thank you very much, it is greatly appreciated.

.....

Good afternoon Jan-Maree,

I am emailing to pass on my sincere thanks to yourself and your team for the beautiful quilt I received last week.

Thank you for providing the background to the quilts in your letter, I didn't realise how the idea for this wonderful organisation came about. I am amazed at the creativity of the pattern and it has exceeded any expectation of what I had in my mind! 

Can you please pass my thanks onto both Louise and Keryn - their work is very much appreciated. I absolutely love that my unit details are on the champagne bottle, and the kittens using string to spell my initials is genius!

The support provided to the ADF through Aussie Hero Quilts is amazing and it's always a highlight of the day seeing someone receive their quilt or laundry bag and what patterns they receive. 

Thank you for everything you do - your team is truly wonderful! 

.......

Hello Hilary, 

I want to thank you for going to the effort of making this fine laundry bag. When I was walking the line to choose my bag, this one just jumped out at me! It had been quite cold in Sydney so the idea of a bag full of beanies was very appealing. It has served it's purpose well so far! I would take a photo with it but the internet is pretty poor. 

It is almost time for bed. Thank you again for your work on my bag, I will always keep it close. 

Kind regards 

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AI am pleased to announce that your Aussie Hero Laundry bag is now a proud member of the RAAF.  I’m a 53yo that’s been in the RAAF for 31 Years and am currently serving in the Middle East. My dad was also in Rabaul during the war.

This is my third trip here (much to the wife's disgust) and this is the first Laundry Bag that I have ever owned and I am thrilled to own it (even better than a puppy). 

As I mentioned this is my third time here (2004, 2010) and I have also served in Timor in 2000 so I have been around. So my time is almost up. This is for the young person now.

Take care Anne and all the best to your Family and it’s nice to see that we are not forgotten over here.

Regards 

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Jo,

I am just writing to thank you for the amazing blanket which you made for me. You did an amazing job and I love it. I am actually lying in bed now with it on me about to go to sleep. I will definitely be taking it home with me as a keepsake.

I especially love that a fellow Knights supporter sent me this. I have been a huge supporter as long as I can remember through the good times and the not so good times recently and that will never change. I barely got to watch any footy this year unfortunately but I did get to watch the mighty blues win origin surrounded by mostly QLD fans which made it even sweeter.

Please pass on a massive thankyou to Mary, Kay and everyone else who helped to make the blanket. I never imagined it would turn out so great. The Tim Tams were great as well and they have already been finished and I only received the package a few hours ago.

Regards,

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Hello Kate,

Thank you so much for the quilt. It is amazing, you did a great job! I especially like the poem about the Poppy and also the ANZAC up the top. And the laundry bag is amazing, so stoked.

And thank you for the chocolates and toiletries.

I really appreciate the time and effort you have made to make this quilt and laundry bag.

Enjoy your retirement and thanks again.

Kind Regards,

.....

One for Rosina

Hello,

I  would like to express their thanks and appreciation for the support provided from you and many other wonderful Australians 

I want to thank you for the amazing  Quilt and laundry bag that I received from you. 

As an Australian Defence Force member deployed to the Middle East region, I deeply appreciate the gifts that you have sent.

It is humbling to know that you have taken the time and effort to think about deployed soldiers, sailors, airmen and airwomen.

Your generous gift brought great joy and pride from Australia, at a time when we all find it difficult to be away from home and family.

Thank you again for your thoughts and generosity of spirit.

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Good Morning Anne,

I am the very lucky recipient of the beautiful hand made quilt you sewed with the dachshunds and kettlebells.

Thank you so much for such a beautiful quilt - I am blown away at how perfect it is. I absolutely love it and will treasure it for a long time to come. 

Thank you also, for the little goodies and your lovely letter. I really enjoyed reading about how you come to make the quilt and how you got into doing this to start with. 

I think what the wonderful people associated with Aussie Hero quilts do for us is very kind and thoughtful and really does put a smile on our faces. 

The blanket will come in very handy, as even though its quite hot outside still, (above 40 degrees) the air con is always blasting in our rooms, so the quilt will definitely get used over here. 

Plus, over Xmas time, the temp will drop cool enough at night to wear a jumper.

This will be my second Xmas here. My last deployment was 10yrs ago, to the same place. It's funny, a lot has changed but so much has stayed the same. 

Aussie quilts didn't exist last time I was here...or if they did, I didn't know about them. 

Everyone gets so excited when they receive their quilt. The work you guys do is amazing.

Thank you again for all your hard work for those of us serving overseas. Your kindness and beautiful quilts and laundry bags really are very much appreciated and loved by all. 

Have a lovely day and I'll be in touch soon.

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Dear Jean,

I am writing to thank you for the lovely personalised laundry bag you made for me. It really blew me away to receive this in the post along with your letter.

I am currently serving in South Sudan with the United Nations. I am part of a group of 20 Australian Defence Force personnel working here. 

Once again, thank you so much for you kindness in volunteering for Aussie Heroes. It means a lot me and my fellow colleagues that there are people like you back home who care about those of us in the far flung places of the world.

Take care Jean

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Great messages! 

Till next time... keep spreading the word and happy stitching!

Jan-Maree xx