Sunday 29 September 2013

Say please with a cherry on top - for lots of reasons!

G'day all,
Firstly thank you to all of you who sent me messages of support in one way or another last night.  I was too distracted to take them all in at the time, but I have to admit that later in the evening, when I had time to reflect, I was really touched and there may have even been a little unexplained sand storm around!  No idea how that happened.  ;-)

If you missed it please don't email me for an explanation - answering those emails just takes too much time, time I don't have now after losing most of last night's hours which were supposed to be devoted to writing the Block of the Month post and other AHQ activities, like SEWING!!!  Suffice to say someone sought to run their own little Aussie Hero mission, and in doing so created a problem that needed to be fixed by Defence. Please no further comments with regards to the specifics.

Please note, the laundry bag tutorial will stay down for a little while longer until I am more confident that the message has been received.

I am posting the request list tonight as tomorrow is the end of the month post, "This Time Last Year" written by Janine. On Tuesday I hope to have the new BOM post completed. That was supposed to be last night's task, or one of them!

Before the requests though, a little lesson in Blog Etiquette that I am sure most of you don't need, but which obviously some do.

Firstly, if you would like to "borrow" or use any of the photos on the blog the very least you should do is give credit to the source you took them from.  If you intend to circulate them in an email or a newsletter to a group of people, it would be nice if you checked first that I was happy for our photos to be used that way and for that purpose.  I have given lots of people permission to do just that and it is usually not a  problem - it is just a matter of courtesy.  

Secondly, if you wish to link to one of the tutorials on the blog then it is also polite to ask permission first.  I am sure if a quilt shop posted tutorials on their blog, or handed out free patterns, they would be pretty upset to find those tutorials being used elsewhere in large numbers without even the courtesy of a call or an email.  It costs nothing to be polite but pays huge dividends in good will.
  
I have, in the past, looked into Copyright and Trademark protection for Aussie Heroes but have decided not to go ahead for two reasons.  The first is cost - it is around $1200 to Trademark a name or a product and that buys a heck of a lot of quilting supplies!  I just can't justify using the funds, largely donated by our wonderful Aussie Heroes who wish to pay it forward so that others may  benefit, in such a manner.  I am constantly humbled by the fact that the donations provided by the Heroes themselves are what keeps us ticking over just nicely.  Spending that money is a responsibility I take very seriously!

The second reason is time.  I just don't have the time to research all that is needed to turn us into a registered charity etc.  I am not sure what the ramifications of that would be and don't have time to find out.  I hope it is not necessary.  In the nearly two years I have been doing this only a couple of people have sought to do things their own way. Out of the hundreds of wonderful volunteers I deal with every day that is pretty good.  I deeply appreciate the support and respect I am given by those who volunteer their time and efforts for us, and who are more than happy to abide by the rules and procedures I have set in place for the benefit of all concerned. 

Finally, if you learn of a group of Heroes who are deploying and wish to take on the responsibility of arranging either their quilts or their laundry bags all you need to do is contact me.  Again that is courtesy and surely I don't need to copyright everything to expect courtesy.  Additionally, you may not be the only person with the same idea and I can make sure that your efforts are not being duplicated elsewhere. Finally, had I known what was being planned I could have advised a safe way to get the necessary info out without releasing details that were not needed at all. 

So, now that the business is out of the way let's get down to the really important stuff - making quilts and laundry bags for those who are deployed to represent Australia overseas.  Here are the requests for this week.  As always I will remind you that those who have given preferences understand that they may not get what they have asked for.  They have been told to provide that information because most quilters like a starting point when making a quilt for someone else.  Often they have listed a favourite colour and theme. The two do not always go together.  For example if someone has requested nautical in green and you can to nautical in blue then do blue!  It is no big deal.  Remember we asked them to provide this info - they will be just happy to receive a quilt or a laundry bag that has been made just for them, especially if it comes with a heartfelt letter that explains why you sewed it for them.

I have one priority request that I would really like to see done fairly soon if someone feels so inclined.

It is for a fellow who would love a nautically themed quilt, favourite colour blue.  If anyone is interested please let me know.

Postal date for these ones are 1 DEC at the latest please.


Cricket, NRL Club Broncos - pink
10
Elephants, birds, owls – pink
4  +LB
Waterfalls, the beach, nature – sky blue and yellow
6
AFL Tigers black and yellow
25
National Hockey League (team - the Capitals) red and white
32
NRL Team Nth Qld Cowboys - blue
35
Shopping, volleyball, reading- purple yellow and orange
44
NBA Basketball – celtic green (celtics fan)
18
Chess Midnight blue, dk purple
1
Golf, squash, gym, beach – blue
7  +LB
Animals green
11
AFL Club  Hawthorn – gold and brown
12  +LB
Rugby League red and white
22  +LB
Dirt bikes, 4WD, spearfishing, anchors, skulls dk green
24  +LB
Navy Theme navy blue
26
AFL Club Collingwood, Navy – black and white
27
Swimming – blue
28  +LB
Whales and Pelicans – blue green white
29  +LB
Drag Cars, Road Bikes- royal blue
30  +LB
AFL Team St Kilda and a frangipani – red, black and white
37
NRL Team St George red and white
38
Bodyboarding – black
40  +LB
Exotic Sports Cars blue
46
Any blue
48
Swimming and Rugby – blue
49  +LB
Science fiction, fantasy books, Battlefield Game, Warrhammer 40,000 – blue and green
51


Postal dates for these vary - some before December and some after - please check on the one you are interested in.


QLD Reds or the Wallabies. movies  Godfather trilogy or The Monty Python series.
Triple J style music but loves classic bands like The Doors, The Ramones, Rolling Stones, The Beatles.
107
Aussie flag colours with aircraft
105
Fishing
109
Photography,  technology/gadgets, earthy colours but would appreciate anything really.
111
Your choice
112

Engineer jokes – this guy is an aerospace engineer
103

If you have read the list you will see that the very last fellow has requested a quilt featuring Engineer Jokes.   If you are interested in this one, but are not sure where to start, please contact me as I have been doing some research.  I do have to tell you though that I am married to an ex-Airforce Electronics Engineer now turned satellite communications engineer. He takes his job very seriously and would not want a quilt with engineer jokes on it! LOL

I told him about this request and said I needed a good selection of one-liner Engineer jokes!  

He looked at me deadpan and quick as a flash said 
"No such thing!  Engineering is a serious business!"  
LOL  Just goes to prove what they say about engineers is true, though I do love him!  
Not sure what that says about me!  :-D

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

3 comments:

  1. I missed out on the hooha that obviously took place but I am so sorry you have been put in the position of having to sort out someone else's mess. Fingers crossed the message gets through and thank you once again for all you do.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for all you do Jan-Maree. I didn't see any of what apparently was said, I don't need to know, but I'm so sorry. and a little bit angry, that you had extra problems to sort out for people who apparently just want to do their own thing. There are times in life when we step out alone and times when we need to work together - wise people know the difference.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I hope that the problems are now sorted, whatever they were, extra work for you, one of the problems of having a successful blog I suppose, I support you wholeheartedly, I only wish I could help more. All the best.

    ReplyDelete