Messages on Monday.

Greetings all.   
Nine sleeps to Christmas!  WOW!   Where did this year go?  You probably don't really care but I am a happy girl this morning because my son accidentally unearthed my CD case full of Christmas Carols last night - I had been looking for them - the carols are ringing out in my house, car and anywhere else I can play them......much to my teenagers' discomfort!

Lots of lovely messages have come in from "over there".  This is a nice time to be sending quilts and laundry bags as they are ending up being early Christmas presents by default.

So, on with the thank you messages.
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Dear Stephanie and Jarryd,

It was amazing to see the beautiful quilt and laundry bag  you made or me.  You could not have made a more perfect design for me.  The wolf material is the same as I bought in the US over ten years ago.  I had been saving it, wondering what to do with it.  Thanks to the beautiful quilt you made, I can now add a matching pillow case.

Jarryd, I loved your picture of the jet on my laundry bag,.  You are such an amazing artist.  Well Done.

Wishing you and all your family a very Merry Christmas.

Best Wishes

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Well done indeed Jarryd! and so kind of you to spend time making something for someone that you will probably never meet.  

Pennie,

I received your quilt in the mail a couple of days ago while alongside. Thank you very much!! :-)  I am very honoured and humbled by your generosity and I was surprised as well by the dhobey bag!  I wasn't expecting that.  I couldn't have asked for a better theme even if I tried and I think the surprise, your letter and the meaning and explanation of the pattern makes it much more meaningful to me.  I really appreciate your time and effort as well as the high quality in the workmanship.  My wife has done a little bit of quilting in the past and I appreciated and laughed at the cat behaviour.  We had a cat and three little boys who took some pleasure in frustrating their Mum back when she was trying her hand at it.

It has taken pride of place in my cabin and is on the end of the couch (neatly folded over the arm) during the day and is used each night when I fold out my rack. I am getting a lot of comments (jealous in nature :-) on the quilt from my Sailors as well as colleagues. 

I hope your run to the Christmas break is not a tiresome one and that you are able to spend Christmas with family and friends. Again much appreciated and thank you.

All the best and kind regards.

Yours aye, 

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Ladies,

First of all I would like to say thank you, not only to yourselves but everyone at Aussie Hero Quilts, what a beautiful thing you do in support of the troops. Whilst deployed it is all the small things that keeps everyone here happy, the quilts being one of those things, I have already seen so many happy faces just brought on by quilts and laundry bags you make.

Secondly, The Quilt itself is just beyond anything I could of imagined, it is really amazing and I love it. I will be writing Sandra Powell a letter and attaching a photo.

Thank you so much once again, it really is a great thing.

Kind Regards 

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Dear Gale and Jenny,

Your beautiful quilt arrived last Friday. It was a wonderful surprise. Both the quilt and laundry bag have been put into immediate use. I was very envious when I got over here and saw a lot people with wonderful laundry bags. The laundry bags add a lot of colour to what is a very drab environment.

I was surprised to see my initials on the laundry bag. After speaking with my daughter the dots lined up and I realised you, Jenny, were one of her teachers.

I've enclosed a few souvenir coins to say thanks. One of the soldiers organised for them to be made up so we could give tho people as gifts in appreciation of their assistance and friendship. They are very minor in comparison to your gift. 

Thanks again,

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Dear Robin and Joan,

Thank you for your generosity in sending me a laundry bag whilst I am in Kabul. It was a nice surprise coming into Christmas. Thanks for the personal touch of the aeroplanes too, Jan-Maree doesn't miss a trick. I hope you both have a fantastic Christmas and thank you for your continued and tangible support for all of our deployed members.

Sincerely,

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Evening Pam,

I received your parcel awhile ago and we recently got Internet at our location. I would like to say thank you and appreciate what you have done. It put a smile on my face after a very long day working in the city of XXXXX.

It is very cool and brisk at the moment here, -2 degrees is the low and the high is 7 degrees but with wind chill it's always below 0. There is snow on the mountain tops where I'm working. This place is very busy and there is always something going on, I'm currently working with a British unit where I am based. Looks like I will have an accent by the time I come back home.

Thank you again so much for the lovely laundry bag and letter.

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Good Afternoon Pam,

I would firstly like to say how amazing and stylish the Laundry Bag is, I've showed everyone, they are all very impressed with the stitching! ( It's just down right impressive!) 

I definitely admire the quilt club it brings such a moral boost to the camps. I have taken many photo's of the Laundry bag and attached them to the email that I will send from my personal email address. Thanks again Pam Have a good day 

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G'day Alice

I am the lucky recipient of your beaut (and amazingly warm) quilt. Can I say off the bat how incredibly grateful I am to you for making it. I am humbled at your generosity and kind spirit.  

This is my fifth deployment having previously served in East Timor twice, Pakistan following the earthquake and Iraq. All going well it will also be my final deployment. At 42 it's time I left it to the younger guys!

Well I must sign off and go recover my aircraft. I hope this finds you well and enjoying the pre Christmas rush. I wish you and your family all the very best for the festive season and a happy and safe new year.  Thank you again for your kindness, it will remain with me as a highlight of the deployment.

Cheers

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Dear Jan-Maree and AHQ

I wanted to express my sincere thanks for the beautiful quilt you sent me, made by the lovely Millie. Please pass on my appreciation to her, and also to the rest of your generous organisation. It is a lovely Christmas gift that I will cherish as a momento for years to come - being away from my friends and family for the holidays will be hard, and this had made it much brighter.

I was so touched to receive this gift, and am very grateful for your thoughts, time and efforts. I wish you many blessings for your kindness. I am much obliged to Merida for passing on my name to you - she is so lovely and a wonderful supporter.

A very merry Christmas to you! May you have a safe and happy season.

I hope to take a picture with the quilt, which I will also pass you. Just wanted to send you my thanks straight away!

Warm regards

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NOTE - you may remember that I wrote a story about Merida - a pseudonym for a civilian who was deployed earlier.  Merida is now home and passed on her friend's name for a quilt. I love when past recipients nominate their friends to receive a quilt and a laundry bag from us.

Don't forget I will be back on Wednesday.

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