Sunday Sharing

Hi all,
Here in the  East coast we are enjoying a lovely long weekend.   It is Sunday morning as I write this and today I have these two new recruits, Lisa and Chelly, coming along to join me for some sewing so that we can do some more work on their quilt.

Tomorrow I will be spending most of the day in the kitchen preparing the food for one of my son's 17th birthday party tomorrow night. Obviously I will be in the kitchen serving the food tomorrow night.  I would give you a run down of the menu but this isn't a cooking blog so you will just have to use your imagination!  LOL

Yes, I have twins but that does not mean they party together!   My other son is heading back to Boarding School in the morning so sometime between now and then I have to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies -that will be today's baking.  

I guess you can work out that means that tomorrow night's post will be brief.  I do have some news to pass on though so it will be worth a quick read.

Finally a special message that just made my day.  Today I received a copy of the latest Newsletter from HMAS Newcastle.  It included a special message for us.  If you are on my volunteer list you will have received a copy of the newsletter and will have seen this message.  I didn't want any one to miss out so here it is again and just because I love it so much I am repeating the photo that they sent us as well.

THE FEARLESS TIMES
During Toowoomba’s deployment, there has been nothing more uplifting and morale boosting than receiving a care package full of goodies from home. I, like many others on Toowoomba had the special privilege in receiving a care package from a group called Aussie Hero Quilts.
Aussie Hero Quilts is a group of talented, dedicated people who had decided by creating home-made quilts and laundry bags so they could bring a little bit of Australia to the troops on the front line, showing support for all Australian Service Men and Women deployed over sea’s.
Right at the beginning of Toowoomba’s deployment, Chaplain Lewis canvassed the crew for personnel interested in having a quilt or laundry bag made for them and by sending a personal email request and some background of our
selves to AHQ, the sewing ma-chines were set in motion.
During the first two patrols we kept an eye on the incoming mail and patiently waited (noting the distance the packages had to travel and the time and care that went into a hand made quilt), but before too long we were greeted by care packages containing our special quilts and laundry bags.
As the deployment draws to a close, it is hard to find a cabin without AHQ quilts on sailors beds or go down to the laundry and not hang up an AHQ laundry bag.
So from all of us on HMAS TOOWOOMBA, we wish to recognise the members of AHQ for showing your support for us by your hard work and time in creating our marvellous quilts and laundry bags. You have lifted the spirits of the crew and provided a welcome
distraction to the daily grind of ship life and we thankyou for it.
Written by XXXXXXX (Proud Quilt and Laundry bag owner)

I intend to send a reply to the ship on Tuesday as there is not much longer to get a message to them before they come home.  If you would like me to include a message from you in my email either email it to me, leave a comment on the blog or PM me.

For now, it is time to share a few more thank you messages.

Dear Danni,

Thank you very much for the beautiful quilt. It is a piece of Australia, the colours and squares do remind me of Australia. ....................

......................... I would like to thank you again, to take the time to make something for a soldier who you have never met says a lot about your character and devotion to the Australian way of life, you will always be in my thoughts, Thank you.

Hi Jan-Maree how are you?

Sorry for the lateness of this reply but  have received my Laundry bag and it is absolutely awesome. So awesome in fact everyone else  wants one but I told them no so as to keep mine unique. lol

Its such a good thing you are doing and its really nice to receive something that has been made specifically for you. It definitely boosts the moral and puts a smile on your face.

I have attached a photo of me and the laundry bag you made. 

Anyway I have to go now but thanks again and keep up the good work.

Jan-Maree

Well I have come back from a few jobs in country and found a parcel sitting on my desk. I opened it up and found the best laundry bag I have ever seen. So good in fact that I don't want to throw dirty laundry in it. You definitely hit the nail on the head with this one. And yes I am old enough to have known that film was what the picture was. I remember training with it a long time ago as a photographer and have some fond memories in the dark room. Thank you very much for this and I love it to pieces.

Hi Jan-Maree

Just letting you know that I received my quilt from Susan P yesterday.  It is a lovely job she has done and it now sits proudly on my bunk.  It couldn't have come at a better time as the weather is really hotting up here and the doonas provided are really not conducive to high heat.  The quilt is of a nice thickness and I had a really nice sleep last night.  I have sent Susan a separate thank you letter.

Again, I would like to thank your organisation for what you are doing for us guys and girls over here.  I certainly know that I am seeing a lot more brightly coloured laundry bags now… some of the designs are truly amazing.

Take care and keep up the great work.

Fond regards

Hello Susan and Lindsay,

Firstly let me thank you for the magnificent gift I received today in the form of a beautifully made quilt.  I am amazed at the intricate workmanship that is put into creating these items and the one you created for me is exceptional.  I am eternally grateful that you have taken the time and effort to make this for me and I have proudly placed it on my bed already.  It has certainly brightened my small room up and I am looking forward to snuggling up to it, although the weather where I am calls for a very light cover.

Good Evening (Well our time anyway) Stephanie,

Just a quick thank you for your dedication and support whilst we are all deployed away from our families.

The laundry bag with trout pictures will be very well used and is greatly appreciated.

Thank you again.

Stay safe, well and all the best wishes for you and your family.

Regards, 

Stephanie,

Today I have received your hand stitched laundry bag and cant be any happier. Thankyou so much! It's people like you who give us all over here the will to keep going. Its always hard being away from your friends and family but things like this, boost the morale big time. Ive still got a long time over and its getting very hot, but it will all be worth it in the end.

All in all, I really appreciate this kind gesture and wont forget it.

Cheers again!

Dear Steph,

Thank you very much for the nifty hotdog laundry bag.  You have managed to make me very hungry for my favourite snack food.  So hungry in fact I had to control myself from eating the bag.  You put a smile on this old soldier's face.

Kind regards,

Dear Stephanie,

 I received a bag from you yesterday, and I wanted to write and say thank you very much. I got the one with cowboy type print, which my kids will love when I get back home.

It is a great morale booster to receive something in the mail, and to get something hand made, that's useful, well that just takes the cake!

So thank you again, I know everyone in my team who received something from you was genuinely blessed by it.

God Bless

Dear Stephanie,

 Today I was lucky enough to receive a hand made laundry bag made by you. I would like to thank you for the time and effort you obviously put into my bag and the many others you have made for my mates.

Your gesture is greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much,

That is all for tonight - see you tomorrow, briefly!

Till next time.................I will be cooking, you keep spreading the word and happy stitching!