Grati- Tuesday 4 March

Hi all.
I have a few thank you messages to share with you tonight but first a little reminder.   This is mostly for the newer quilters and laundry bag makers.   If you hear back from your recipients can you please let me know.  Firstly because that saves me chasing up your recipient to see if he has received his quilt only to find out he has already acknowledged its receipt.  Also, if you are able to share your thank you with me then I can share it on the blog for those who do not hear back from their recipients.  of course I remove all personal information first and messages are published anonymously.

Have you started sewing any of the new Blocks of the Month yet?
Check out our latest recruit sewing his for last month!  
This is Louis the Pompapoo!

I will have to keep this photo and make sure I send it with the quilt when it gets sent off.  I always say our quilters come from all walks of life and I always mention that we even have a few males!  Way to go Louis!!

Now for tonight's messages...
.....

Dear Joan,

Thank you so much for the laundry bag, it is fabulous and I absolutely love the colour. Pink is my favourite, we see so much green and brown all the time that the bag is a cheerful and welcome addition to my room. I really appreciate the time you have taken to create the gift. It is incredibly reassuring to know that back home we have such support.

Kind Regards

.....

Hi Joan and Robin,

During our last mail drop I received the laundry bag that you have made. Thank you very much for your time and effort in putting it together, it certainly beats my old string bag, and adds a bit of colour to the mess area.

Hopefully you guys had a great Christmas and are enjoying the new year. I know that seems a little silly to say, being near the end of February, but it feels like our lives have been on hold while we were away. Now we are heading home, and it's our turn for belated celebrations and a late Christmas with the kids. 

Take care and thank you,

.....

Hi Stephanie,

I wanted to send a quick email to thank you for my beautiful quilt.  I received the quilt just this week and it was a nice surprise, I didn't think it would arrive so soon.

I have sent a little something in the mail to you, but thought it might take a while to get to you, hence this email.

When hearing what you ladies did, I just thought it was fantastic.  Such thoughtful pieces are sent and getting mail on these deployments takes us straight to cloud nine, so once again, thank you.

My mother would probably have a field day in your sewing room!   

.....

The following thank you is for a quilt that I pieced and Stephanie T quilted.

Dear Jan-Maree,

The quilt and washing bag arrived last weekend. They are fabulous. I did wonder how they would turn out but the thought, creativity and detail are amazing. The quilt is almost 3 dimensional - I cannot talk highly enough of both items. It was only because I had to leave for overseas on Sunday that visitors have been spared me showing them off. I now have a much better understanding and respect for quilting.

Your commitment to Aussie Hero Quilts, and the investment you, and I assume many people, must give to produce such amazing gifts is inspirational. Thank you very much.

.....

Jan-Maree 

How surprised I was to receive you pack!  A fantastic laundry bag that now has pride of place as an item of decoration in the office.  It really was very kind of you.  I was already aware of what fantastic work you and your team already do; it really is a very generous use of both your time and sewing machines. My 15 year old daughter made a quilt last year - it really was a significant undertaking which drove my wife mad, so I have a sense of how much work all of this entails.

Once again thanks to you and your team for the outstanding support you give us.  It really is appreciated. 

 .....

Julie Ann,

I received a laundry bag in the mail today from you. Thank you very much for your kind efforts. The laundry bag could not have suited me better, I am a proud Australian and even prouder to be afforded the privilege of serving overseas in the Army. It is just perfect for me. I will be excited to show it to my family.

It is very generous of you to take time from your life, of which from your letter is currently filled with challenges of your own.
Thank you once again, I have seen a few of these laundry bags around our base and I can say with a degree of certainty that they are appreciated and talked about.

Kindest regards,
.....

Dear Lenore,

I want to start by saying a big thank you for the amazing quilt you sent me.  It must have taken forever.  This is my third deployment to Afghanistan.   I am the only female in my team so it is so nice to have a bright quilt to come home to each day.  Also, the timing is perfect because it’s currently snowing.  I can certainly see the Southern Cross in it.  It’s fantastic.  There aren’t many Australians where we are so I am often explaining our flag as an icebreaker.  I have become very fond of our Southern Cross.

I really appreciate the time you have taken to make such a thoughtful gift.  It makes our efforts all worthwhile.

Kind regards

.....

ANZAC Day Laundry Bag Challenge.

So now that you have had time to think about it have you started to come up with an idea for the laundry bag challenge?  Are you going to do a military themed one or an Aussie themed one?

I thought I would post a few more pics to get you inspired.

Hope that gives you some ideas.

Mystery Quilts

There was such a good response to the girly Mystery Quilt that I thought we would one for a man this time.  This fellow likes the Carlton Football Club.

Their colours are Navy Blue and white.  We will use the same star tutorial that we are using for the pink and girly quilt (tutorial).  The star points are to be white and the rest of the block is to be Navy Blue.  Feel free to use fabric with a print or you can stick to Homespun or quilters muslin.  Batiks might be nice for this - you can get some lovely Navy Blues.  Fabrics like these are perfectly suitable.  

If anyone feels like doing some applique it would great to include the team name and/or the CFC logo.  Just let me know.

If possible it would be great if these blocks could be in the mail no later than 17 March.  Please register with me (email or facebook) if you are interested in doing one or more so that we get enough and not too many.  Also if anyone would like to volunteer to put the quilt together, either to quilt top stage or the completion please let me know.  

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