Weekly Dispatches 26 April

The tally so far-

22  quilts this week and 95 laundry bags.

393 quilts and 869 laundry bags for 2013

1410 quilts and 2243 laundry bags in total.

Debbie is new to AHQ and this week she sent off this awesome quilt and a fabulous laundry bag - can't show you the bag as it would give the game away.

Claire

Jill M sent me this quilt top, backing and batting - it was beautifully quilted by Stephanie and then I added the Air Force Motto before sending it off.  it is much more red, white and blue and vibrant that has shown up in the photos.

Joan

Judy D

  

Judith

Karen B

 Keryn

Kitty

Don't you love the little details.

Leanne M

  

and the back

Leslie is a newbie for AHQ and spent ANZAC Day sewing  laundry bags for us.  

Well done Leslie.

Liz

Janine

These were laundry bags were made for a team fom 17 Construction Squadron by Wendy, her husband, Michael, his mother, their next door neighbour and another friend.  

You can see that they all have the 17 Construction Squadron emblem on them which Wendy arranged to have printed on fabric.  Now that they have all been received we can share the pictures.

And here is the message of thanks

Thank you for the lovely parcel of goodies that you sent. All the laundry bags were a massive success and received jealous looks from the other members of the TG. I personally will keep and use my laundry bag for many more years to come. It was fate that you sent them, I actually needed one having had my laundry bag go missing on Friday.

Nancy

Sue F

Sandra

Stephanie

Pat

Check out the Aussie words embroidered on the quilt!

Lynn made the next two quilt tops and Stephanie quilted them.

This is the 2CDO logo which I appliqued after the quilts were completed.

To cover up the messy bit on the back where the scroll was embroidered I added an embroidered patch courtesy of Michele.

Foras admonitio means "without warning".  Perfect motto I think!

Lynn also made this pretty quilt top and Liz B was kind enough to quilt it and make a laundry bag as well.

Another of Lynn's quilt tops, this one quilted by Stephanie.

Louise made this quilt top and Stephanie quilted it.......

with a sheep!!!  which made it perfect for the farmer I sent it to.

Louise also made this quilt top and it was quilted by DeeEmEss

Marg

Now on Tuesday I published the "Why I Sew for AHQ" post and after that I transferred it to an email and sent it to as many of the those overseas as I could manage.  I know some of you found it hard to write your piece but I am sure that the following letter sent as a result of someone reading it  will make it all worthwhile.  Incidentally, this fellow had the email forwarded to him, I did not send it direct to him.  I have had other responses as well and they will be shared on an upcoming post.

Hi girls,

I am currently serving in Afghanistan and received my quilt a few months ago. I was so excited and touched that a stranger would make this for me.
I transferred to ADF almost 3 years ago and having served with the British Army for almost 24 years I don't recall ever having something special made for me like this.

I have deployed many times in the past and will treasure my quilt and laundry bag as much as my medals for what it stands for.

I read your AHQ blog, sent to me in an email, recently and I was moved by your individual motivation and I consider it to be very worthwhile.

I have decided to mount all of my memorabilia when I return home, framed for my wall. The laundry bag will be the backing. When people ask me why I have a black and yellow backing, I will tell them the story of you girls and the morale that you bring to the troops, something that you can't buy.

Camp Baker RTF have donated money to assist you in your great effort and I know that many people appreciate what you do for them.

A big thank you to Jan-Maree, Angela, Jeann, Joan, Liz, Carol, Claire, Debra, Janine, Carolyn, Caz and all the other helpers that I do not have names. Thank You all.

Carolyn, I was lucky enough to attend the 90th Anniversary of the Somme, in France, and saw the fields of gold and the trenched area where our Grandfathers fought and was moved and honoured to have that experience.
I have also seen the poppy field painting in Kensington Gardens described by one of the girls, I too would love to have it on my wall.

I am spending ANZAC Day on Operations in Kandahar,  Afghanistan and during the dawn service it was an honour to stand where others have stood and listen to the names of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice being read out.
At the same time in Darwin my son marched for the first time with the Army cadets, a very proud day for me indeed.

I will have stories to pass on to my children and among those tales will be one of kindness and support from you girls at AHQ.

Keep up the great work that is much appreciated by all.

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