Thank yous and things

A little business first - the next couple of sewing dates........

Firstly we have Sunday the 19th of January at Penrith Patchwork. Their address is 97B Henry Street, Penrith.  There is plenty of parking out the back.  I will be bringing laundry bag kits this time and all you need to bring is your lunch and your sewing machine.  If you are interested can you please let me know so that I can make sure I have enough gear for everyone.

The second sewing day is at my home in the Sydney Hills district on Friday the 24th.  We will start off at 10am and will go till three-ish. once again, if you are interested in coming please let me know.  BYO lunch and sewing machine and I will provide everything else you need.  If you are interested in coming please PM me on Facebook or email me (friendsofAHQ@gmail.com)

And the first request list for 2014 is out.  Please email me (or PM me on facebook) if you want a copy.  

A lovely way to start our post is with some pictures.  I received a few more photos from Camp Baker.  If you see a quilt that you have made and would like a high resolution copy of the photo please let me know.   

And I know I have already shown this to you but with the holiday period some of you may have missed it so here it is again.  Once again, if you made one of these quilts please let me know and I will send you a copy.

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• Hi Pam,

 
I apologise for taking so long to send this to you. I just wanted to let you know that I received the laundry bag that you made, and to say a big thank you. It shows your character to do what you do for others and I know that both myself and the rest of my section got a big boost out of receiving laundry bags and from people like yourself.

I hope you had an excellent Christmas and New Year and I wish you and your family all the best for 2014.
 
Thanks again Pam, 
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Thank you so much for my quilt and laundry bag.  It arrived just in time for Christmas.  The ship is freezing right now so the extra blanket to keep me nice and warm.  I will treasure this!!    Thanks again for being a great moral booster!!

Dear Jan-Maree,

You will be pleased to know that I have received the quilt :-)  I am most impressed with the craftsmanship that has gone into making the quilt! I am a sewer and know how much effort would have been put in to produce such a beautiful piece. Can you please pass on my up most thanks to Lynn and Kaye from the Camden Country Quilters Guild. Thank you letters in the post are to follow.   I think it is a wonderful organisation that you have founded and receiving something so special really brightened my day and Christmas (the quilt arrived two days after Christmas) 
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Hi Evelyn,

I just wanted to let you know that I received the quilt you made 'Bikie Blues', and to say a big thank you. It's been quite cold lately so it definitely has come in handy, it's just a shame I can't ride any of those motorcycles!  I know that the rest of my section and I definitely got a big boost out of receiving quilts from you and people like yourself.

I hope you had an excellent Christmas and New Year and I wish you all the best for 2014.
 
Thanks again Evelyn and happy quilting! 
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Good afternoon Jan-Maree
Just wanted to drop you a quick note to say thank you for the Hero Quilt and the Christmas Patch – what a great surprise it was to open your box and see your thoughtful gifts. The Block of the Month you chose is pretty awesome – and I especially liked the nautical theme you went with. Can you please pass on my thanks to Stephanie T?  She must have spent a fair bit of time on it.

You may have heard on the news recently that we have pulled out of Afghanistan, but of course, that’s only from the Uruzgan Province. There are still plenty of us serving in XXXXX over Christmas and New Years, and some even Australia Day and Anzac Day. I am lucky enough to get home just before Australia Day, which I am looking forward to. 

My trip is nearly coming to an end and my replacement gets here tomorrow. It’s been a challenging but enjoyable 6 months, with lots of experiences to one day tell the kids. Again, thank you very much for your kind and thoughtful gifts. I bet every sailor, soldier and airman appreciates all the effort you and your associates put in.

All the best for 2014.
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Dear Jenny and Gale,

Thank you very much for the quilt that you crafted for me.  The surprising offer of the quilt was happily accepted, as my grandmother was an avid patchwork quilter, who made many for a variety of causes in her lifetime.  Although I see service as a responsibility, I deeply appreciate your efforts and recognition of what our team in Melbourne do.  While our operational service may seem routine for many of ship's company, for most, the offer and receipt of an “Aussie Hero” quilt is often the first time anyone has offered even a verbal, let alone tangible, recognition of what we do, most of us for our adult lives until now.

The quilt itself is splendid, and now sits atop my 'rack', used daily for a nap between my watch in the Operations Room.

Thank you again, and Merry Christmas.

Kindest regards

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Hi Pam,

Today I received a very unexpected parcel that brightened my day and made my heart swell - thankyou. Your gift was very thoughtful and very much appreciated. It takes a special person to give so selflessly, and you are a good example to us all.

I thought I would give you a little insight to what it is like to be here - so you can understand how thoughts of home and fabric other than green are cherished.  At the moment we have hit the beginning of winter. Day temperatures are up to a sultry 3 degrees and night temperatures can drop to a cool minus 10. I'm told it will get colder. The water is undrinkable and horrendous on your skin - there is no amount of moisturiser that can give it moisture:) So consequently, at the end of the day, when you take off your socks, it is like you have dandruff all over your socks.
5 hours sleep is a good day for me. Having 4 kids, I actually see this as a positive and the younger ones amongst us (I am 40 this year), cannot believe how us older ones keep going. Having children gives you certain skills with time management.

I am sorry to write via email - there is no nice writing paper around here.  

Anyway - I better get back to it. Once again, thankyou for the beautiful laundry bag. It has given me pleasure in my day,

Kind regards,
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Good afternoon Joan and Robin,

I would like to thank you for the wonderful laundry bag that you made and sent over here to us. I think you are providing a great product to all the serving ADF members over here. Your laundry bags are very popular and (the girls in particular) like to show everyone the one they got.

Thank you very much for brightening our days!
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Hi Jan

I received your quilt 3 days ago when we pulled into XXXXX, I had only one parcel on my rack, I sighed, I did not recognise were it was from. When I opened it I saw my quilt and my bag. I was very excited I was like a 5yr old on Christmas day I ran to show all my shipmates how cool it was and how much effort was put into it ( many of them were jealous ).  Then I sat down in the mess and read the letter it was truly touching and nearly brought a tear to my eye. I am very appreciative of the quilt and bag.
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Dear Debbie,

I am writing to express my thanks and gratitude for sending me one of your amazing Aussie Hero Quilts. I received my package today, complete with thoughtful note and magazine (which was very appropriate considering my love of golf!) I never realised how much time and effort from so many people went into the making of the quilts, especially with all the work that you must have to put in maintaining your land. I love the end result - it means a lot to me that people back home are thinking of us and appreciate the work we do. The cockatoos and eucalyptus are a nice touch also, as I am from Perth and in my free time love to head down South with my family, which is full of gum trees and the resulting bird life. I am really looking forward to getting back down there for some camping and four-wheel driving once I get home. 

Christmas on board the ship can be a tough time on people, especially those who are away from families for the first time. We try to make it as fun as we can (considering our tasking) and our chefs cooked up a feast, before we had an outdoor concert put on by sailors with hidden talents. All in all a fun day. We celebrated New Year in Dubai. Dubai itself gets very busy at this time of year and so I elected to stay away from all of the hustle and remained on the ship for the celebrations. We could see fireworks from the ship and so it wasn't bad.
Once again, thank you so much for time, effort and talents that went into making my quilt. I will send you a photo once I have a chance.

All the best for some upcoming rain!

Regards, 
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Hi Jan-Maree
   I received my Aussie Hero quilt today, it is absolutely perfect!   Maree used different Owl fabrics and a pink tye-dye looking material for the back. It was meant to be as I adore all things owl =)
Please pass on how much the quilt really made my day and that it now has pride of place on my rack. All your ladies do such an amazing job and we all really appreciate it. 
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Till next time.................keep spreading the word and happy stitching!  JMxx