Grati-Tuesday

G'day all.  

Staring tonight's post with a photo of a quilt that Lynn made.   I added the applique and Stephanie T quilted it.   This little cherub's mother requested it for him and here he is, snuggled up with it in Mum and Dad's bed as he is not well.  Sleep well little man and get well soon.  

This quilt was made by Rita C but this was my email to let me know it had been received.

Hi Jan-Maree,

Here are the photos of the Quilt that was made for me as promised. The Quilt is fantastic, unfortunately I couldn't fit my smiling face in the photos as the quilt is soooooo long.

Cheers,

Last week Bev and Geoff were visited by a very happy recipient and her three adorable little girls.  Bev and Geoff had no idea they were coming (I made sure they were going to be around and just hoped Bev would not ask too many questions!!)   

The happy recipient even brought her much enjoyd quilt along to visit.

Bev gave these three cute wall hangings to the girls as special gifts.

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Hi Jan-Maree,

I've received my quilt and laundry bag and wanted to pass on how grateful I am for the gesture. 

Also thank you for your enclosed letter, it was nice to hear your story and the reason why you decided to start the organisation and I personally know how far it goes for morale and as a show of appreciation for serving military personnel. Its the little things like this that help you realise that being away from your family and friends wasn't for nothing and patriotism is still strong.

Thanks again 

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Morning Joan and Robin,

I wanted to write and personally thank-you for my laundry bag that I received today from my boss.  I really appreciate the time and effort you must put into making these items for us all over here.  I got a beautiful light blue one with a paisley print on it and it will definitely brighten my living space indeed :)

Thank-you once again! 

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Hi Rachel,

I have received a beautifully made laundry bag from you, and have put it to good use in here in Kabul. Thank you very much for your kind gift. A thank you note is on its way to you, but mail can be a bit unpredictable and I thought that I would let you know by e-mail that I have been given your handiwork.

It is a beautiful sunny day in Kabul today, with snow on the mountains around us after the rain, thunder and lightning we have had recently. There was a great turnout for the elections on Saturday, despite the bad weather, and the election proceeded relatively smoothly.  I'm sure that the laundry bag will be a reminder of your kindness and generosity for many years.

Thank you again.

Best regards,

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For a quilt made by Rita C

Oh-My-God Jan Marie,

I just received my quilt not an hour ago, its freaking amazing.

Its funny, it has everything i wanted on it and more, everybody loves it, haha

I think you'll get a few orders after I parade this piece of art around, haha

Thanks again for everything, take care and god bless,

Kind Regards,

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Hi Alicia N and many thanks for your quilt it’s perfect,  I hope you don’t mind, I’ve decided to give my quilt to my dear grand daughter who just turned four, its funny it was just the other day she asked me to buy her a little horse and bring it home for her. Then today I received my quilt and its just perfect to give to her she will treasure for ever, I will keep your letter and when she is old enough I will pass your story about your daughter on to her making it even better. 

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Hi Debbie,

Today I received your wonderful gift in the mail.  Thank you so much for making the laundry bag with the Simpsons on it - it put an enormous smile on my face!  I was also very pleased that you put my initials on it as well as I often receive laundry bags in the mail, and the crew wait till I get them, and then quickly take one for themselves - such is the popularity of the work you wonderful ladies are doing for us.  When people saw mine, I had about 6 people run forward and say that is mine, and it wasn't until I showed them my initials on the front that they realised it wasn't going anywhere.

If you could see the smiles of everyone around the ship today as we received a lot of mail and a lot of quilts as well - an extremely happy ship.  It is such a wonderful thing you do for us, it really makes an incredible difference.  I had a pretty tough day and was very tired, but that all went the moment I opened your parcel and saw the laundry bag, magazines and DVD.  Unfortunately on the zip lock bag that had different types of teas and Freddo Frogs you did write 'Don't forget to share'...well... everyone saw that and share we did - I got half a frog :-). 

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Robyn accompanied this quilt with a cap signed by some of the players from the Sydney Swans

Robin,

I received your very generous gift today in the mail. Thank you for taking the time to make such a lovely washing bag, although it is so nice that I am unsure if I am willing to put dirty washing in it. I was also over the moon about the signed cap, I was like a 8 year old boy at Christmas and felt I had to tell and show everyone whether they wanted to see or hear. So you have definitely brought joy to a sailor, that will last for a long and arduous deployment. It is nice to know that there are people who support us while we complete the mission we have been tasked with.

I would also like to tell you about our current mission. We are on a 7 month deployment in the Middle Eastern Area of Operation. Our current roles include Anti-Piracy, Anti- Drug & Anti -Weapon smuggling. It is our role to assist the coalition in stopping the illegal transport of contraband that is being used to raise money in the support of terrorism world wide. By doing so we endeavour to keep terrorism from the shores of Australia. We had some very pleasing outcomes in our first patrol and are currently on our second patrol, with several more before our return.

The crew onboard HMAS DARWIN  is disciplined, well trained and serve the country with pride. We will continue to do the very best we can on a world stage to keep Australia safe.

Thank you again for making the effort to support the troops !

Kindest Regards,

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I received this email when I told this fellow that his quilt was on the way.
Made my day.  :-)

Thank you for letting me know that a purpose built quilt is now speeding its way across the Indian Ocean to me.  I am extremely thankful for this kind gesture and would appreciate the address of its maker, so that I can pass my sincerest thanks on to her.  I certainly look forward to its arrival and will let you know as soon as it is honourably commissioned into Naval Service. 

 

Your team continues to bring a whole lot of happiness to our team out here on the sharp end of Navy's operations in the Middle Eastern Area of Operations.  I am able to report that all of the sailors that have been lucky enough to receive the quilts are extremely happy with their quality and in many cases little personal touches.  A case in point was one who received a quilt just this week and was so proud of it, that she brought it to the operations room to show the rest of the on watch ops team.  What was evident to all, was the care and love that was placed into that quilt – along with a little personal touch that she was not expecting (but was moved enough to point it out to all of us).  I expect that the padre will be getting additional requests for quilts shortly.   

 

The laundry bags and quilts have made some of the messes in which our sailors are required to spend much of their time seem a little less taxing and a bit like home.  Your efforts go a long way to lifting our morale and remind us of what is important and why it is we serve.  Your team's support and friendship is not lost on us - especially now that we are approaching ANZAC day.  So thank you very much for reminding us of our wonderful country and more importantly its people. 

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Good Evening Joan and Robin,

I am currently deployed overseas, and am commanding a small section of great Australians.

Just yesterday we all received a package from you containing Laundry Bags for each of us.

I would like to express my gratitude for the time and effort you all put into doing such a great service for us. I can conclusively say that my people were extremely pleased and thankful, and greatly lifted the level of morale and happiness immediately. 

The Laundry Bags are also very colourful, and helps in brightening up our otherwise mundane sleeping quarters.

Once again, thank-you so much - you make us all proud to serve when we know we have great people like yourselves thinking about us.

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Good morning Bev and Geoff, 
I am onboard HMAS Darwin currently serving in the Middle East Area of Operations. I received your beautiful quilt yesterday in the mail (the ship received some 923kg of mail on the day!) and suffice to say it is more than a work of art! You have given me something that reminds me very much of the things I miss from home whilst away (other than my beautiful new wife who I had the pleasure of marrying 5 days prior to me deploying.

The quilt as pictured below now lays proudly on my rack (bed) in my Charthouse which is located at the back of the Bridge onboard. I've already had several of Ships Company pop their head in to have a look at the quilt with many commenting at the level of detail and the sail boat stitching (which I think is awesome!) whilst the laundry bag will get a good workout. You have ticked more than all the boxes, they are both wonderful pieces of craftsmanship. I look forward to sharing this quilt with my family and future children and being able to tell them about how it came about and what it means to me to have generous people such as yourselves who out of their own good will provide a little bit of Australia and support to those of us who depart our shores to support our great country.

Thank you very much from an extremely grateful individual and I shall ensure the little packets of goodies that came with the quilt and bag are shared among my bridge watchkeepers,

Yours Aye,

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Hi Su,

I received my quilt yesterday and couldn't have been more thrilled! Thank you so much for all the effort you've put into it, its beautiful. And its definitely turned heads on the ship, even the CO had a look and loved it, in fact everyone who has seen it has loved it, its quickly spreading through the ship as the best one we've received!

You would be surprised how cold it actually does get on board so the quilt is perfect! 

I will take a photo and send it as soon as i can!

Thank you so much for your time and effort Su, it was a really heartfelt gift and i love it. The quilt will be well loved and looked after, just as much as it keeps me safe! 

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pastel quilt

Dear Jan-Maree
I received my beautiful quilt.  Thank you so very much. It is very special and I will treasure it forever.  I really appreciate the effory put into it and that you sent it to me.  I am now back home in Australia.  I will post a picture of my beautiful quilt soon.
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Hi Robin,

Thank you very much for my Sydney Swans laundry bag, it great. You did a fantastic job with the Swans emblem and I love that you included my initials on the bag.
Now I definitely have a bag that cannot be confused with the rest, its brilliant. Thank you also for the poster and the killer pythons, both are a big hit.  

You're right about the Swannies, we haven't had the greatest start to this season, we need big Buddy Franklin to find his feet and start kicking some goals. No good
paying all that money for him just for his namesake. But you know what they say "you don't win premierships in March" haha... Hopefully april has a better couple of
rounds for us.

I really appreciate the time and effort you spent on my laundry bag, thank you again. Always great to hear from more swans supporters out there.

"Cheer cheer the red and the white"

Take care
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Louise T,

Thank you so much the blanket its already on my rack, so excited to see i had mail and even better is that it was my brilliant  blanket.

kindest wishes

Hi Jan-Maree,

Thanks to all involved! I love my new laundry bag (made by Joan) and can't wait to see how my quilt turns out! 

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Hello Su,

I'd like to express my gratitude for the outstanding laundry bags that you and you fellow colleagues have made for myself and my Airmen; the little things from home that matter aren't so little anymore, they're big and bright, which most certainly brightens our day, and for that, we thank you all immensely.

Yours sincerely,

 Roo laundry bag

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Hi Sue,

I just wanted to let you know that I recently received your quilt and laundry bag and I wanted to pass on a massive thank you!! I love it.

The effort that you have gone to is obvious and your hard work is very much appreciated.

Our deployment so far is going well, you may have seen us in the news?, time is ticking over fairly steadily and it looks like we will be home to our loved oned in about 4 months time. Things get pretty monotonous out here and it is definately an exciting day when we get mail. I would compare it to Christmas Day, simple items like a magazine or some lollies, are very uplifting and exciting. To get a hand made quilt is even better.

Well thanks again Sue, all the best to you and your family and keep up the good work, we really appreciate what you guys do.

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Hey Hey Rita and CO.

I received my awesome quilt, and i don't mind telling you, people were jealous, hahahaha

Its a beautiful piece of work, i love the helo's, the references to the gym, the awesome denim pocket, and the banner for Op Slipper down the bottom.   Its really well put together, and i will cherish it for many years as a reminder of the people at home who actually care about us heading away for 7 months. Its a real pick-me-up, so cheers Rita.

Its great to read about your families military history, i think that's fantastic. I believe im the first in my lot to join the forces, and i hope that I've started a little bit of history for future generations, haha.

I really appreciate the care and effort put into this quilt, i loved the letter as well. Especially when it explained each piece of the quilt, But the song cracked me up, so thank you,

Feel free to keep in touch, all the best from us on HMAS Darwin

Kind Regards,

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Good Afternoon Mary, 

             I just wanted to take this chance to say thank you for the beautiful laundry bag I received in the mail today! Its absolutely lovely - far too nice for my dirty laundry so I am using it as a kind of head rest over my chair - it really brightens (and feminizes) my work place! 

  

Anyway - I just wanted to let you know I really appreciated the gesture (time, energy and resources) that went into making something so special and explicitly for me. I will most likely convert it into a pillow case when I get home - for my rocking chair/reading nook in the sunny corner of my bedroom on Tamborine Mountain, QLD. I look forward to my daughters XXXXX (5) and XXXXX (2) crawling up into my lap on that spot. A piece of you will be there with us too!

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Dear Julie-Ann

Today I received your amazing gift. When I filled in the request form I was not

expecting something so quickly and lovingly made to match my favourite items. It

most certainly was the highlight of a busy few weeks here in Afghanistan. Once

again, thank you for taking the time and thinking of us overseas.

Sincerely yours,

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Linda,

I would like to thank you for your kind gesture.

It was a bit of a surprise when I received the parcel. As I wasn't expecting any mail.

I appreciate the work you have put into the laundry bag. I have already started using it. 

It will serve me well over my time I have left here.

Once again thank you.

It is greatly appreciated.

Kind regards

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