Grati-Wednesday 25 March

OK so Grati-Wednesday does not sound as good as Grati-Tuesday but such is life.  :-)

I am sure you will still enjoy the messages.   From only one thank you message to share last week to back to normal with lots to share this week.  Enjoy!

Hi Joan & Robin,

Thank you very much for the excellent laundry bag. Your support is appreciated at all levels here - you are a great morale booster.

Take care too and thanks again.

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Hi Lynne,

Thank you very much for the laundry bag, it looks amazing, and adds a much needed female touch to a cabin filled with six blokes.

It was great to read your letter too, its always nice to hear from the outside world (such that it is).

HMAS Success is working hard in the Middle East, we are working as part of a multinational task force  against piracy and narcotics smuggling. Success has already worked directly with the; Turkish, Spanish, British, French, Italian and American Navies.

We are now halfway through our deployment and while committed to our mission, everyone is missing home and looking forward to our return to Sydney, our families and loved ones.

I am looking forward to receiving your quilt and your next letter.

Thank you for your support and hard work.

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Dear Jackie S,

Thankyou for the lovely gift of a quilt and washing bag. The fine workmanship and personalisation  on the items is excellent. It is very heartening to know that people back home care about deployed soldiers. That you would give your time and skill to create something beautiful for someone you have never met is very generous.

 Thank you again.

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Lynne,

Thanks so much for the quilt, it arrived today & I love it. The bone colour is fine, where I am is very comfortable and I have my own room, so I don't envisage it will get dirty at all.

Once again thanks very much.

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Dear Marilynn,

I received your quilt and laundry bag last night and they are absolutely perfect, thank you so much. The laundry bag was put to work today, and last night I quite literally stared at the quilt for 20 minutes taking in all the colour and patches. It's beautiful, it reminds me of summer and winter back home. 

Thank you once again for your generous gift.

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Hello Pauline and Elaine,

I am currently deployed to the Middle East. Just a quick e-mail to thank you both very much for the fantastic Laundry Bag - I received it recently in the post and was very impressed with the quality.  Being an Air Force Engineering officer, and fond of all things space and physics related, I found the choice of material especially apt. It also took me back to my childhood as I am quite sure I had a doona cover made of the same type of material as a young lad!   No doubt that had an influence on me to do what I am doing now. The Aussie flags and initials were also a great touch! 

I have attached a photo of myself with the laundry bag - hopefully the smile on my face gives away how pleased I was to receive the bag! It will stay with me for many years and future deployments.

Thanks also for the great letter and photos from Mackay - I'm currently posted to South East Queensland and the photo of the Kangaroos on the beach is a quintessentially Australian (and Queensland) photo and bought a smile to my face as I thought of home.

Thanks again for your fine work - the great and tireless work you do supporting us while we are deployed, and the positive affect it has on our morale, cannot be under-estimated.

Thanks and best regards

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Hi Deborah !

A big thankyou for the fine quilt I received in the mail today.  It's fantastic.  I can't get over how you managed to get it into such a small package. I love your letter explaining all the aspects of my special quilt.  Everything blends in perfect harmony.  Thankyou for the time, love and care you've taken to create a gift that will be with me for a lifetime.  I am so pleased and humbled by your kindness.

At the moment I am significantly closer to Turkey than home, so the moment is not lost on the folks over here 100 years after our forefathers.

I will be very pleased to be heading home to my family (my wife and 2 boys (6 & 8)) who are very keen for daddy to take them camping and fishing. It will be early winter, so that will be a shock from the high 30's we're currently experiencing.  I will welcome the change as things get pretty busy over here from time to time.

Anyway Deborah, I must close now, so thankyou once again for the quilt - I love it.  Please accept my heartfelt thanks from this senior airman - love your work !!

Kind regards,

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Dear Irene,

Thank you very much for the quilt. It is truly wonderful. I have safely returned to Australia following my deployment to Afghanistan. When I first heard of the quilt offer for deployed service personnel, I did not expect to receive such a wonderful creation. I have shown off my quilt at work and at home. My work mates and family all agree that the quilt is simply beautiful.

My deployment to Afghanistan was my first ever Military operational deployment experience and though I cannot say much of what I did or saw, I can say that I have never worked harder. Deploying for me was truly a life changing experience and it has left me viewing the things we take for granted, here in Australia, quite a bit differently.

One of the things I now reflect upon is the generosity of Australians. You for example, have given your own time to produce this wonderful gift for a complete stranger. I find your generosity and dedication to be truly amazing. I hope this email finds you well and I want to say that your gift has truly touched my heart. Thanks again.

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For a quilt made by Lisa N 

I just wanted to say a huge thankyou for my Aussie Hero quilt. It is absolutely amazing, so much detail & effort went into it. 

The colours are stunning and it's absolutely perfect. 

Thankyou all for all your hard work & bringing smiles to our faces everyday. 

Regards, 

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Barbara,

Thank you for the kind gift of the Quilt and chockies that you have sent. Those Quilts are a great practical item, I did not think the evening temperatures would be so low, so it is getting good use. It is always nice to get mail from home, the bag of chocolates were a treat as well (actually my favourite those mixed bags).

I am very happy with my Quilt. I think it is unique as it has a story to go with it, so it is definitely a keeper along with your hand written letter. Both are great momentos of my overseas service with the Royal Australian Air Force, so thanks Barbara.

The guys and girls over here all have a great appreciation for the laundry bags and quilts which are sent from volunteers such as yourselves,

many thanks

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Hi Jan-Maree,

I apologise for the late reply on off getting back to you to thank you for the lovely quilt. I can see how much time and effort has gone into it and I can promise you that it will/has been used. I think that while at it sea and when at home I will let my daughter use it. I appreciate all the hard work and time that everyone puts into it. So to you, Lynn and Kym I thank you for everything you have done for me. People might not think its much, but its a lovely feeling to know that people still care back home and the spirit isn't dead.

Once again thank you for everything you have done for me and the other serving members.

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Dear Evelyn,

I came back two nights ago after being busy for a few days and found your parcel on my bed. It is always nice to receive mail as it is such a morale booster, much to my surprise when I opened the parcel and there was your quilt.

I would like to say thank you very much as yes you did hit all the right notes with the cricket and Hawks theme with the skippy badge emblazoned in the middle.

I absolutely love it and appreciate the time and effort you put into making the quilt and laundry bag. The guys here appreciate what AHQ does back in Australia knowing that there are people who are thinking of us and out of the kindness of their hearts stitch us these amazing quilts.

We are currently 2 and a half months into a six month deployment and working with the Kiwis and Poms, so you could imagine the great cricket debate happening with the world cup being played currently.

I am sure that the disabled and disadvantaged children you quilt for enjoy and appreciate it as much as us soldiers do, thankyou very much for the time and effort and it is very nice to know everyday Australians think of us whilst we are deployed.

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Hi Joan and Robin,

Thank you very much for the laundry bag that I received in the mail today-it was very nice of you to make it for me.  Thanks for the effort you guys put into this-all the girls and lads really appreciate it.

Cheers

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Hey Pennie

Thank you so much for making me the quilt and laundry bad and I am so sorry about the late email, had some trouble getting my camera working.

I am loving the quilt it keeps me warm while I am on watch early in the mornings, but don't tell anyone haha!

Once again I can't thank you enough on the package you sent me and all the time you spent sewing on the quilt and bag! This is a gift I will treasure for a lifetime!

I  thank you for your service as an intensive care nurse as I have a friend whose partner is also a nurse; hearing her stories I don't think you guys get enough credit for it.

Have a good one and thanks again!  

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Dear Catherine,

I was surprised today to receive your package and the lovely present inside today, it is heartwarming to think of the effort and thought your have provided. I will cherish this forever :).

You are correct. Tim Tams are currency , however I think I will keep these all to myself :))

Thank you once again.

Sincerely 

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Hey Su,

How are you? Hope every thing is well.

I would just like the thank you greatly for the quilt you sent over - the boxing kangaroo on an Aus and Afghanistan flag. It is absolutely amazing! And if that's the second biggest roo you've ever made I cant even imagine how big the largest one is! And let me tell you, I felt very special for having a poppy flower on the back. very fitting for the 100 year celebration of the Anzacs.

That's great your daughter has been deployed. wouldn't it be funny if you made a quilt for her!  I’ll have to get my mother involved in making quilts, she did just buy a sewing machine.

Well thankyou very much for putting a smile on my face. The quilt and laundry bag look absolutely amazing!  I really appreciate all the time and effort you put into making something special for me.

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And for info re the above thank you.... Su won't be making a quilt for her daughter.... I have already done that! :-D

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Dear Cath,

thank you for the recently arrived quilt. ‘WOW’ you nailed it and bought tears to my eyes. It is ok no one saw me.

I cannot explain how your kindness steels me. After four months away I'm missing my family and I see it in my demeanour. This is my third deployment but the first with children, it is harder than I expected it would be.  I hope to be home in XXXX to see them for a couple of weeks and cannot wait.   I'm not sure who will be more excited at the time.

Once again thank you for your kindness and that of your family. 

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

Jan-Maree xx