Weekly dispatches 2 May

Hi all.  Well it has been a busy couple of weeks with Easter and then ANZAC Day and it is just over two weeks since I last posted the Weekly Dispatches.  I hope you are ready to sit back and enjoy the show and tell coz there are some great quilts and laundry bags that have been sent off in the last couple of weeks.  

First though I want to remind everyone that this Sunday is our next sewing day at Penrith Patchwork.  We start at 10am and go through till 2 or 3 depending on when the shop closes. Please BYO lunch and sewing machine and I will provide the materials.  Project for this week is some funky laundry bags. :-)

The next sewing day at my home will be held during the week of the 12th.  I try to schedule these days when the most people can come so if you have a preference for a day please let me know.  Once again all materials are supplied and if you can't sew I can still find jobs for you.  There is always plenty to do.  Just let me know you are coming.  I guarantee there will be plenty to do but there is always plenty of chatting and laughter as well.

So on with this week's show. 

285 quilts and 481 laundry bags for 2014.  

2695 quilts and 4256 laundry bags in total.

Louise

Alicia

Alison

Anna N has joined us for the first time.  :-)

Anne D

Some of the BOMs were turned into this awesome quilt by Leanne.

Debra S took more BOMs and created two more fabulous quilts and made laundry bags to go with them.

Carolyn 

Cath

Debbie made the following two quilts.

Thanks to Coral for the Collingwood panel!  These work so well.

This quilt top was made by Lynn and beautifully quilted by Kim.

More BOMs were put together - please yell out if you made the top so that I can give you credit. 

Evelyn

Hilary M (nth NSW)

Irene

Irene and the Cambooya Quilt Group made the next laundry bag and quilt.

Jenny and Gale

Jenny F

Jenny G

Lorraine has made her first Aussie Hero Quilt too. 

Lynn made this quilt top and it was quilted by Stephanie T

Another two collaborations by Lynn, Belinda and I with me doing the applique, Lynn created the quilt top and Belinda finishing them off with her quilting and binding!

Joan

Remember our pink and pretty girly stars?  Well the Mystery Quilt was quilted by Hilary and it has now been received with much pleasure and I can now reveal it.

Karen B

Katherine

Keryn

Kim (front)

 and back - or is it the other way around?

Leanne

Lisa B

Louise

This time a quartet of Lynn and Kym collaborations

Lynn made the quilt top and Stephanie T quilted it

Maree

Maridy, who is an HMAS Darwin wife, created her first AHQ.

Marilyn (front)

And back!

Mary P

Now I am particularly proud of this one.  If you have been reading our blog for a while you will remember the story of Merida  - check it out here .  Merida was one of my contacts in Kandahar for a long time and she would have passed on over 60 quilt requests and would have passed out hundreds of laundry bags!  Well I am pleased to say that she has been learning to quilt and this is her first Aussie Hero Quilt! This is a particularly good effort when you think that she lives in Canberra and her quilting teacher (that would be me) lives in Sydney and she regularly works 15 hours days!  

Pennie

 

I might add Pennie had to learn some new skills to complete this badge!  

Worth every stitch though!

Rachel

For those of you that think a personalised quilt needs to be fancy - when I showed a photo of this one to the wife of the recipient she wrote - 

OH my goodness I have tears that is exactly how I imagined it would look in my head!!! I cannot thank you enough, this will be a wonderful surprise

:-) 

Rita M

 Steph N made this one for a guardian angel and added angel wings a halo and the words "What you do Rocks" in the quilting!  Won't this fellow be walking ten feet tall!  NICE!

Stephanie D

Stephanie T - that is a map of Afgnistan by the way.  :-)  and a pocket as well!

Su

Sue N (SA)

Sue N (VIC)

Tania D M 

Another example of a simple quilt that went to someone that lives in a farm - 

this really touched the spot.

Four Wounded Warrior Quilts headed off this week.  Two more are heading off next week.  These will be held in the hospital or by the chaplain till they are needed.  When a soldier is wounded and taken to Germany one of these will go with him, carried by the Medevac nurse.  

Claire made this quilt top and Stephanie T quilted it.

Diane made the quilt top and Sandra finished it off.

Marg sent us the quilt top and Barbara quilted it.

Miriam created this quilt top and Stephanie T quilted it.

Stephanie T

Once all of these quilts arrive in situ we will have plenty in place in Afghanistan and hopefully none will be needed and that will be the case for sometime.  I now need to build up my supply back here again though.

Anyone can make one of these whenever the mood takes you.  You can make just the top and send it to me for completion or you can make the whole top but there are only two requirements.  All Wounded Warrior Quilts are held and sent off from Sydney so that I can get them in the mail as soon as I hear there is a need.  The second requirement is that they need to be Australian in flavour.  

The original Aussie Hero, the very first one, once said to me, "if ever the worst happened and I ended up in a hospital in Germany, to wake up under a wonderful Australian Quilt with our flag or the Southern Cross or kangaroos on it would mean so much".   

I have had other Wounded Warriors, who arrived in Germany before we started sending quilts, tell me that they had wondered why they received a quilt from the Americans but nothing from their own country.  I feel like crying every time I hear that and I never want that to be the case again.  If our soldiers, sailors or airmen find themselves in a hospital in Germany, I want them to know that their country cares.    If these heroes are prepared to put life and limb on the line then the very least we can do is to let them know that we care.

As you can tell this is something I feel very strongly about.

Well, that is all for this week. I hope you all have a great weekend.  

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