Sunday Sharing

So many thank you messages have come in since last Sunday and with me traveling for three days  I am hoping that I have remembered to gather them all together to include on this post.   If you have forwarded one and can't see it here please send me a note to remind me so that I can make sure it is in the next Gratitude Post.  In the mean time, grab a beverage of your choice and sit back and enjoy.

Good Morning Janine, 

 I received the Laundry Bag you so kindly made for me yesterday. It was a pleasant surprise to receive so quickly and very appreciated. It is nice to have something pretty in amongst the sea of Army green. 

I am employed in the Royal Australian Air Force and I am responsible for administration support to Air Force personnel spread across the Middle East. This is my first deployment away from Australia and do miss home and my family, especially my two sons. Seven months is a long time to be away and it is comforting to know that people back in Australia are thinking of us. 

It is a real joy to see the smiles on the faces of our airman,soldiers and sailors when their packages are opened. I have seen very tough, seasoned men brought to tears by the thoughtfulness of people at home.  I will treasure my bag always. 

Thank you again. Your kind words and thoughts are greatly appreciated. 

Hello Maddy,

 I am writing once again because I feel strongly that you must receive my letter of sincere thanks for your contribution to the sailors of HMAS Toowoomba regarding your awesome quilt.

Not only was the quilt of a professional standard you also found the time to present me with chocolates and lollies and a wonderful post card. All of this I found most enjoyable to receive while posted to the Middle East Area of Operations (MEAO).

Thank you so much

 Please let me know if you received this letter of THANKS.

 Thanks once again 

Karen,
I am currently serving onboard HMAS TOOWOOMBA in the Arabian Gulf.  
I am the proud and very privileged recipient of the quilt and laundry bag set you sent.  Please excuse my late response; I did receive the set some time ago now but have been extremely busy with my roles and responsibilities onboard that this email has been put on the back-burner.  
I have been away from home for just under 5 months now and your package now brings me a homely touch to my rack that I had been missing.  Again, I thank you for your quilt and laundry bag care package and look forward to hopefully hearing back from you and continuing correspondence.
If you are a Mum, (if only to the 2 Schipperke dogs) I wish you a very happy Mothers Day.
Take care 

One of Angela's recipients from South Sudan recently had the chance to view the blog and  sent me the following message - 

Got a chance to view your website and really enjoyed looking at the pics of the other quilts and laundry bags. I'd be very pleased to support your website and be honoured if you'd like to post the pics of my quilt and laundry bag 'Roo' (I've attached them again for you).
  

G'day Joan and Rob,
The laundry bag arrived yesterday, and it sure will brighten my surroundings! It actually beat me here, and was a great surprise on arrival in Juba (Capital of South Sudan).
One of the guys here does enjoy sailing, so I have passed the magazine on to him as he is a Navy guy, and a long way from the ocean here in the middle of Africa.
It is great to hear from people at home, and to know that people are apppreciative of the work we do and the time we spend away from our families.
Thank you again,

Dear Joan and Rob, 

thank you so very much for your time and effort to make the laundry bag I have received. It is little things like this that makes all the difference to why we are here. This will be a laundry bag I will take with me even when I return home.

Once again thank you.

Hi Cheryl,

Let me start by putting your fears to rest, I am very happy and grateful to receive the laundry bag and quilt you made for me.  I like them both very much and would like you to know that I appreciate the time and effort you have put into not only mine but all the bags and quilts you have made.  It arrived in one piece and I will take very good care of it to ensure it stays in good order and in the family for many years to come.  I enjoy serving our great country and appreciate the support of people like you.

thanks Cheryl.

One for Stephanie D

I received my aussie hero quilt today. It's wonderful, so lovely. Thanks you so much I really appreciate it.
I've passed on your details to a few other people over here as well.
Kind Regards,

Dear Jan-maree, please let me start this message by saying thank you soooooo much for all the time and effort you and your band of busy ladies spend on producing these remarkable blankets, they are received with the utmost gratitude, I have attached some photos of the remaining FSU-7 members who haven't posted their blankets home.

How awesome is this photo???  Who can pick their quilt?

Dear Angela,

I wanted to write and thank you for the wonderful quilt and laundry bag.  I am sorry to have made you work with yellow, however the Wallabies theme will be proudly displayed to my colleagues from the United Kingdom during the Lion's Tour in June/July

Dear Jan-Maree,
This is a brief note to express my appreciation for the quilt you and Jill, along with your other team members supplied to me.
It was a lovely surprise to receive the quilt, and you are correct the Ad Astra Per Ardua motif is inspiring!
I have attached a photograph of the quilt in use on my bed!
Once again thank you for your time and effort in producing these quilts, and for your ongoing support of deployed defence members. It means a lot to us to know we are thought of so highly by the people back home.
Kind regards and best wishes

Dear Angela,

 Just a quick note to express my profound gratitude and appreciation for the wonderful and unexpected laundry bag that I received in the mail.  What a great buzz!

I am not an emotional guy, though I confess to being a bit misty eyed when I read your letter.  It is difficult to express in words the impact that the support of great Australians and humanitarians such as yourself and the 'Chatting Chooks' can have on an Aussie soldier fighting in yet another far off land.

I will be sure to send you a photo with me using the laundry bag (it might go on a tour with me around the country).

Please convey my special thanks to Amy for spotting the material. I can only imagine what wonderful parents you guys must be to have set such a great example to your kids.

Thanks again, 

The material the fellow refers to is Toy Soldier Fabric!  LOL

Dear Jan-Maree, Louise and Liz,

Please accept my deepest thanks for the beautiful quilt and wash bag I received courtesy of Aussie Hero Quilts.  I posted pictures immediately on Facebook and emailed my friends.  Your kindness and generosity is really appreciated.  The quilt now takes pride of place on my bed and provides that little bit extra warmth required on the still cool nights we hare having here.  I will always treasure this quilt as a memento of my deployment to Afghanistan.

I just love the Australian flora which I did specify when we were asked for preferences, so that I could showcase Australia should anyone see my quilt.  It is so bright and beautiful and makes my otherwise very dull room much prettier.   Louise, thank you also for the beautiful cards, which Jan did say were photos taken by you.  I will use them thoughtfully over the next three months.

So again, thank you all for the beautiful gift which I will always treasure and I know will give me immense joy for the remainder of my tour.

Kindest regards

Dear Kerryn C
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 yourself and Aussie Hero Quilts which make our deployment here so much more bearable.
Once again, thank-you for your letter, the laundry bags and treats, on behalf of the Airmen of Multi-National Base Command - Tarin Kot, thanks once again for your generous donation.  
Kind Regards,

Dear Evelyn and Kerryn,
We would like to extend a very sincere thank you (I have previously sent you an e-mail Evelyn, this one has the photos as promised!) for the marvellous quilts that you have sent to us here in Afghanistan.
The photo depicts the aircraft that we remotely fly over here on missions over Afghanistan.  
We are both very appreciative of the very talented work that you have given us. It truly gives us both a kind reminder that there are still genuinely honest kind people in this world that would do something for complete strangers.
Kerryn, as your first person, I can honestly say you have done an outstanding job, I love the design on the washing bag especially!
Kindest regards,

Dear Jan-Maree

Thank you so much for coordinating, contributing to and forwarding to me this wonderful quilt.  I would really like to extend my many thanks and best wishes to you and the many quilters and sewers who contribute to this worthwhile cause.  Your passion and dedication to your organisation truly show through in the marvelous Aussie-themed Hero Quilt that I now have before me.

I have shown the quilt to a number of my fellow service members here in Kabul and look forward to sharing it with my family when I return to Australia in November.  I can imagine this quilt will become a family "treasure", especially now as I start to collect grandchildren, and I can see them wanting to use this quilt to get in under while watching TV.

Thank you for your service while in the military and your continued service to deployed service members as the founder and coordinator of Aussie Hero Quilts.

Dear Ang,
Thank you so much for your lovely laundry bag. The choice of fabric is inspired and the embroidery is brilliant! Clearly a lot of thought and work went into its construction. You may not be aware but we are supplied laundry bags here, but they are all the same colour and shape, so finding your laundry can be quite a time-consuming exercise. To have a laundry bag that looks different is truly useful!
Unfortunately your bag arrived towards the end of my deployment, but fortunately the incoming senior chaplain has just arrived and he will be more than able to put it to excellent use. I have attached a photograph of him holding it outside our headquarters building.
Once again thank you so much for your support to the deployed defence force members and for your excellent sewing.

And just in case you are wondering, the reason Angela's laundry bag arrived so late in this fellow's deployment is that his quilt and laundry bag were requested for him by a friend late in his deployment.  The reality is that, given this fellow's rank, he is not likely to need a laundry bag once he has gone home, so passing it on was a great idea.

And from the new recipient, who also happens to be a RAAFie, hence the appropriateness of the RAAF roundel... 

The laundry bag is so beautiful . . and the thoughts behind it even more so.  I will treasure both throughout the deployment, and beyond.  I almost (but not quite!) don't want to use it, but certainly will as it is a practical expression of support . . and will advertise AHQ no doubt!


This thank you is for Angela and for Caroline.  Caroline made and quilted the quilt and Angela was kind enough to bind it and send it off.  Lots of our quilts are team efforts and it works. 
:-)

Hello Angela,

My son has received the laundry bag and quilt and is thrilled.  He asked me to pass on his thanks and appreciation.  He is looking forward to using the quilt in the winter time in Adelaide, when he returns in the next couple of months.   

Morning Stephanie, I have just returned from leave and received my new Flash Laundry Bag with my initials and a whole heap of eyes looking at me, I Love it. reminds me of waking up at home and my three youngest are at the side of the bed, innocent faces like they have been standing there for ages and its only six am staring and "What are we doing today Dad?!" on their faces. thank you very much for going out of your way and making a difference for us here.
All the very best and Thank you again,

And from the same fellow for his quilt...

Dear Jan-Maree, I have received my Quilt Cover today and cannot believe the effort you and your ladies have gone to in making it a special "Me" Doona cover. Unfortunately the Major with the Leprechaun voice and young XXXX are on their well earned leave at present so they were not here to see the opening of my box. I received my Laundry bag on my return from leave a couple of weeks ago and Loved the googly eyes  which Stephanie tells me will glow in the dark if I prep them.
Being a Dad of four boys ranging 15,10,8 and 6 I know they will be battling for my laundry bag.
Can I say a big special Thank you for all the efforts of Stephanie, Carol, the other Aussie Hero Friend designers and in particular yourself for making this happen. When we take our washing to the Laundry, I always look around and see the other designs that are presented and smile, and we say "Aussie Heroes?' and get a "Yes" back. Know that the 1300 plus quilts and 2100 laundry bags are very well used and trust me, they don't get passed to the incoming groups, they go home with the soldiers as another memento to look back on with fond memories of time served. I know I will be keeping mine (or should I say sharing mine with my boys). Thank you very much All the best to you and your Aussie Heroes,


Dear Carol,
I would like to say a big thank you for the lovely quilt, laundry bag, and all of the other lovely goodies you sent me, they were much appreciated. I absolutely love my quilt with the gorgeous little fox on it and it is something I will be able hand down to my children in years to come. As soon as I received my quilt I sent a photo to my mum to show her how lovely it is.

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