Sharing on Sunday

Happy Birthday Michele!  

I hope you have had a lovely day today.

Jan-Maree,

  The laundry bag I just received is PERFECT.  I had a chuckle at the clueless hunter on it.  Very cool indeed.  Funny thing is it can feel that way hunting sometimes!  You're right it has started to heat up here, its really jumped up a notch or two!  It was 46.6 the other day (yep in the shade). Not much fun in that heat!

I'd just like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the time and effort you put into helping look after us over here.  There are so many people back home that seem to have us in their hearts and minds daily, and I am really touched by the support we get.  I am a fitter and turner here and know what its like to make a beautiful item and not get any real acknowledgement for the effort and skill that goes into it. 

So from one craftsman to another, THANK YOU to all the people out there that pour their heart and skills into this wonderful morale boosting organisation.  

This is the laundry bag he received courtesy of Bev and Geoff.

Dear Rita Mee,

Just letting you know I received my quilt and it's amazing so thank you so much!

Happy 50th anniversary to you and your husband Bob for last September, that's an amazing amount of time to be married. Im getting married in Nov this year, Can you give me any advice to help stay happily married for that long?

I was luckily enough to be on leave this month so I went home and got to go to the Brisbane vs Crows game it was great to see the Crows win.

I hope your husband Bob is now well and has now recovered from the cancer.

Thank you again for the quilt and wash bag, the time and effort you put into making it really means a lot to me.

Have a wonderful night,

Dear Cath,
I want to take the time to write my thanks to you and your mother. I am extremely grateful to you for the quilt that you have sent me and my belly is very appreciative of the lollies from your mother.
I appreciate all the trouble you took to make me such a wonderful generous gift. It is a pleasant reminder of the kind generosity given from Australians back home and this will be a treasured keepsake.
These words cannot fully express how much I appreciate your thoughtfulness, but once again THANKS.
Yours Sincerely,

Dear Cath, 
I received you lovely quilt and would like to convey my deep appreciation for your gift, not to mention all the yummy chocolates your mother so kindly provided. 
Little acts of kindness are truly appreciated and I consider the time and effort put into making your quilt and chocolates such an act.
Thanks again 

Dear Joan,

My name is XXXX and I manage a Army Workshop responsible for servicing and repairing all the vehicles, weapons and communication equipment used on operations in Afghanistan.  
I received you lovely laundry bag and would like to convey my deep appreciation for the gift you so kindly provided.
Little acts of kindness are truly appreciated and I consider the time and effort put into making this laundry bag such an act.
Thanks again

Hello Joan and Robin
Thank You so much for the laundry bag it will be with me for the rest of my Army career.
Thank You

Hi Joan,
I just wanted to say thanks for the laundry bag that I received today.
It definitely brightens up the room and adds a bit of flair to it.  My daughter will love the bag when I get home!
Once again Joan, thanks.

Dear Joan,

I received you lovely laundry bag and would like to convey my deep appreciation for the gift you so kindly provided. Little acts of kindness are truly appreciated and I consider the time and effort put into making this laundry bag such an act. Thanks again.

Hello Sue,

My name is XXXXX and I am currently deployed in the Middle East Area of Operations with Combat Support Unit – 9. 

I was lucky enough to receive the laundry bag you so thoughtfully took the time to make.  It will come in very handy when I have to wash my uniforms, which is almost a daily occurrence due to the amount of dust and dirt over here.  But now I will have no worries with getting the wrong digger’s clothes with my distinctive new Buzz Light Year bag.

My wife is due to give birth to our first baby one month after I return home (fingers crossed) and your laundry bag will be something that I can give to him or her when they are born.  Judging by the quality of your work my family and I will be able to appreciate your gift for many years to come.

Again thank you and please give my regards to your family and of course your two cats.

To infinity …….and beyond!!!! 

Dear Julie-Ann,
Just a short email to thank-you for the laundry bags and treats you sent us recently.
Its the support back home from people and organisations such as yourselves which make our deployment here so much more bearable.
On behalf of the Airmen of Multi-National Base Command - Tarin Kot, thanks once again for your generous donation.  
Kind Regards,


Hi, My name is XXXXXXXX I received my Aussie heros quilt you sent me, thank you very much for the effort you put in the quilt. I love it. Thank you 

Dear Jan-Maree, Just wanted to give you and your team of quilters a big THANK YOU for the awesome work you are doing. I received my quilt and laundry bag and I love them. Myself and everyone else onboard HMAS Toowoomba have really appreciated the gifts. Keep up the great morale boosting work and again, thank you :) Cheers, 

Good evening Judy,

I would like to pass on my thanks for the awesome quilt and laundry bag that you sent me. I got them on Monday, I must say that you have put a lot of work into them, the quilt has made my bed space look a bit more homely and the laundry bag is a marked improvement from my plastic bag, I have attached a photo of myself with your quilt out the front of our accommodation building in Kandahar, Afghanistan.  (waiting for permission to publish it)

Once again Judy thanks for the time and effort that you have put into the quilt and the laundry bag they are amazing,  and thanks for letter is was a very good read.

Have a great day Judy

Kind regards,

Hi my name is XXXX and I am currently deployed in the Middle East  in the Royal Australian Air Force.  I received a lovely quilt and laundry bag from Leanne Mac yesterday. I have only been here for just over one month but being away from family and friends makes you miss the small things in life that are often taken for granted.

The support that you all show by taking time out of your day to make the quilts and laundry bags is greatly appreciated. It's amazing how some colour can brighten your day even in the most hectic moments.

Thank you Leanne and to everyone at Aussie Hero Quilts for your support.

Best Wishes

Dearest Evelyn,

I would just to like extend a very warm and sincere thank you for the outstanding 'Aussie Sailing' Quilt that you so kindly made for me. I have been in touch with Jan-Maree and I am honestly very touched by what you do. I received the quilt in the mail two days ago (just prior to ANZAC Day).

I have been deployed to Afghanistan for 3 months now and have a further 1.5 months to serve.  I have enjoyed my time here, but I do miss Australia; the people, fresh air, beautiful beaches and my beautiful wife.

I have been married to my wife for 2 years now and she is now pregnant which is very exciting news for us. If we do have a little boy (we are going to keep it a 'surprise'!), I have told my wife that the very special quilt you have made for me, will in fact be a perfect and most appropriate companion for him. I also said to her that if we have a girl, the Aussie Sailing Quilt will also be a perfect companion, even if it does err on the boy side!! :)

Well I hope you did have a memorable ANZAC Day this year. We had a great day here. We had a moving dawn service out at the cenotaph in the Australian compound which was surrounded by lush green grass (it has rained quite a lot here in the last month or so). We then had a BBQ lunch with a two beer ration per person. We were lucky! The beers were thoroughly enjoyed.

I will be sending you a photo of what I look like with my new quilt when my good friend receives his quilt in a matter of days now.

Once again, thank you for your very kind gift. It makes me very proud to serve for decent, kind-hearted Australians like yourself, Evelyn.

Kindest regards,

A few more responses to our "Why I Sew For AHQ" have come in.  There is no way you can read these messages and fail to be touched by them.
Enjoy!

Good morning/afternoon 

I haven't asked for or wish to burden anyone with making a quilt for myself plus there are others that need it more than I do. In saying that I still wanted to thank you for what you are doing and the letters that you and your team have sent in.

It makes what we do easier know that people are supporting us. Hope you take great pride in the work you do. Just like the mums that sent ANZAC biscuits to Gallipoli. You are do the same to the soldiers in Afghanistan and will be remembered as such.

thank so much.  

To the members of Aussie Hero Friends, I would like to express my thanks for your efforts in support of our troops. As a deployed member, I can tell you with certainty that your efforts do not go unnoticed.
For me, your quilts and laundry bags add a little bit of colour and comfort to our deployment. As well, I've always found that receiving real mail (tangible mail, not electronic mail on the internet) is a special surprise for deployed members.
But more importantly, your quilts and laundry bags highlight that there are those in our community who appreciate our service. This can sometimes be overshadowed by those in our community who are negative towards us. It's nice to be reminded of the true decency of Australians. With gratitude


Thanks Jan-Maree,
They were lovely messages and its easy to forget when you've been here for a while that there are people back home that really care about what were doing here and the sacrifice (some the ultimate) that we and our families have to make as a result.
Have a wonderful ANZAC Day
Regards,

How wonderful it was to read your team's thoughts regarding why they do what they do. I'm so deeply humbled to be mentioned in connection even in the slightest way with those truly selfless Australians who by their deeds forged our present and established the worthy legend of the ANZACS and the veterans who followed them.


 Again, my deepest thanks to you and them.
Australia gave me and my family a home many years ago, for which I am sincerely grateful. It is the very least I can do, to help pursue our interests overseas - it is a mighty honour to have been given this opportunity - your support is most welcome validation of our work.
 Best wishes to you and the AHQ team,

To the team at Aussie Hero Quilts,

Thank you so much for your continuing selfless efforts and kind words of support. The work you do is extremely appreciated by the Soldiers, Sailors and Air Crew. The smallest gestures mean so much over here for those away from their home and families and your large contribution to there morale and well-being can not be overstated. You have inspired me to partake in similar activities when my body can no longer endure the physical aspects of soldiering as I am now aware of the power of goodwill from strangers to those in less fortunate circumstances and how good it feels to receive from a good samaritan. I only hope that you and your team feel as good for making the items as the soldiers do receiving them and that a humble letter expressing a fraction of the appreciation from myself and others will suffice. You all deserve the upmost acknowledgement and recognition for your efforts and I salute you.

Your team and its efforts embody the ANZAC spirit in its entirety and I am proud to serve my country for you.   


And to add a little colour to tonight's post, here are two quilt tops made from the March BOMs. These were put together by Rita C, our resident American member.  It was pretty ironic that the one putting the quilts together was not a native born Aussie and Rita would occassionally say things like "What is a thunderbox?" and "what does BEWDY mean?" Don't worry we translated for her.

:-)

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

Just a little note from me (Deputy Nut) Caroline, those of you waiting to see the post on Jan-Maree's special Aussie Hero Quilt that was presented to her on Anzac Day.  The post will be published on Thurday 2nd May.