Grati-Tuesday 15 Mar 16

Hi All, well I am writing this late on Monday night but by the time you read this I will be in Canberra getting ready to meet one of my recipients and his wife. More on that in coming days with their blessing.  

Before sharing the thank you messages a quick note about the Block Party - please note one block per person please.   That way everyone gets the same chance to win a prize.

Ok, so the business is out of the way... now for the great messages we received today. 
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G’Day Jan-Maree,

I received one of your lovely hero quilts here. I have to admit I knew nothing about your volunteer organization and what you do for deployed servicemen. It was ordered for me by a fellow soldier on my deployment for me which I knew nothing about, so it was a pleasant surprise to receive this gift out of the blue.

I have attached a photo of my new quilt made by Nancy.  It design fits perfectly with my photos of Australian countryside and the Aussie flag at the head of my bed.

Your gift has definitely put a smile on my face and I now have quilt envy from my fellow Kiwi mates living next to me. As you probably know we are a ANZAC Unit and the friendship of Aussie and Kiwis is as strong as ever In this the centenary year of the Somme battles of WW1.

Once again thank you, I will be bringing this home to my family when my deployment finishes, I am now a fan of Aussie hero Quilts and you can count on me as a supporter of your excellent work.”

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Hi Cath,

        . Thanks for the greetings from the sunshine state. Beautiful one day, perfect the next :)   Your letter has found me in good spirits as the time for me and my work mates to return home is close. 
Thank you very much for the quilt that I received today, it is GREAT
I have been a Melbourne fan since they joined the competition along with one son, my other son is a Bronco fan and my wife goes for whoever is winning at the time.
 
I  wanted to reply to your letter and your kind gift of the quilt with heart felt feelings as it reminds all of the people away that we are in the hearts and minds of not only our loved ones but other people who we don't even know.

Please thank your husband and sons for their interest in the ADF and I hope that the Melbourne Storm and their colours were deemed not TOO lame for the purpose of my quilt.

Know that it will be  proudly positioned on a wall of my house when I return home.

Once again thanks and I hope that you and yours are and will always  be happy and healthy
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From the grateful mother of a recipient for a quilt made by Carol S

Hi, just wanted to say a big thank you for my daughter's amazing quilt. The time and thought that went into it to make it so special for her was wonderful. What a fantastic service you give to our soldiers.

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Hi Su,

    I just received my Aussie Hero Quilt and wanted to express my thanks (it was the quilt with a picture of Pan the faun). When I unfurled the quilt I was blown away by the detail of the design and the quality of the work. I had my doubts that anyone would be able to stitch a faun onto the quilt but it looks fantastic. The rest of the guys in the squadron were stoked with it too. 

 I'm currently posted to XXXXXX but grew up in SA, my brother and grandparents both still live in Adelaide so I will be using my time off to travel down there. Once again thank you very much for the amazing quilt and keep up the good work. Everyone who receives a quilt really appreciates the time and effort you put in and to know that people back home are thinking of us.

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Hi Jean & Wendy,

Thank you very much for the hard work and hours you have put into making my quilt and laundry bag. Our boss here surprised us with them and I was over the moon!

I am currently in XXXXX and it's still very much winter over here so the quilt will get plenty of use. My new laundry bag which is awesome, makes me stand out among the Americans here whenever I go to the laundry.

Again, I thank you kindly for your support and work, it is little gifts like these these that raise our moral when we are away from home!

Thanks,

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G'day Leah,

First of all, the quilt and bag you made for me arrived safe and sound. Secondly, you have done an amazing job! I am a massive Liverpool fan and am glad you choose to make run with the Liverpool theme  vice a sports in general. I am heading over to the UK to watch them play after this deployment so the quilt has just got me more excited. Things like this, as I am sure your husband can attest to, do make a big difference whilst deployed and I hope you keep up your work with AHQ.

A little about myself, I am working on the F/A-18 Classic Hornets and this has been my first deployment. It has been great so far but we are all looking forward to getting home (only another few weeks). I am currently living in XXXX with my partner and our dog.

Thanks again and I hope everything is going well back in Aus! 
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Hi Joan & Rob

Thank you so much for my laundry bag. When I opened the care package and saw it, it brought tears to my eyes. It is absolutely perfect and the patchtwork is beautiful. Worlds cannot describe how grateful I am for what the two of you are doing for deployed sailors. This is my first big deployment with the Navy and before I left I was so scared because I had no clue what to expect but it has already been one of the best experience of my life. I have seen so many cool place and a have only been gone a month. I can’t wait to see what comes my way next.

I love my job so much but I never really get to be a girly girl so this lovely laundry bag let me connect with my inner lady. I have put a photo of me with my laundry bag in the envelope so it can be added to the Aussie Hero Quilts blog. Once again, thank you so much for this laundry bag, I will cherish it forever.

Take care

P.S. All the girls are so jealous of how good my bag looks.

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To Joan & Rob

Thank you so much for my laundry bag, I love it. So beautiful, I will definitely come and visit you at SHF as I do live in Sydney. Still have a few months to go here though. Your work is much appreciated by all the girls- everyone who received one was so happy.

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Hello Chris,

Firstly thank you. This quilt is wonderful it brought a big smile to my face when I opened it up. You are indeed creative!

Again I thank you very much for this wonderful creation of yours and appreciate it greatly. It also managed to arrive on my birthday which was very special, especially when you have been away from home for a long time and cannot celebrate with the ones you love.

I hope you find great enjoyment in your upcoming retirement and the restful years ahead of you.

With great appreciation, 

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Dear Clarissa,

Thank you very much for this beautiful laundry bag. I am so happy. I am not sure whether I can use it or just keep it as a present from you all. I will keep it together with my quilt.

Would you please pass it on to Bridget my regards and a big thank you for the work that you all do for the soldiers.

May God bless you all with all that you need to keep up this great work supporting our troops.

Blessings. 
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Dear Karen,

Thank you for the beautiful laundry bag.

Congratulations on it being the first one you have made, I’m sure by now you have done plenty more.

Are you enjoying being part of Aussie Heroes Quilts?

Thank you for taking the time out to make us such special gifts, it means a lot that we have support and when it’s from strangers it makes it so much more special.

I am finally heading home soon, it has been a long time away from my Husband and kids, so I cannot wait.

Hope you are well.

Continue to make beautiful things.

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Dear Mae,

Thank you so much for my beautiful quilt!

I know I didn’t specify what I wanted, but the patchwork is made up of all things I enjoy!

Chocolate, cocktails, cakes and strawberries. 

It has come at a perfect time as I am about to change bases and need something pretty for the bed in my new bunk.

I found it funny you are from XXXXX, I had not heard of it, but I was actually born in Wagga being an Air Force child.  I have now been serving in the Air Force for seven years as a Logistics Clerk and I’m based in Sydney with my Naval husband and mini dachshund.

Thank you again,

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Jan M,

It is hard for me to describe how much your package meant to me.

The quilt and laundry bag are just amazing.  I can see that sewing is your passion as it is absolutely amazing.

I will treasure it as a major reminder of my time spent on deployment.

Believe me when I say the chocolates are going down really well and I treasure every bite.

The XXX is perfect as well.

Most of all it’s your lovely words that seem to make it all worthwhile.

I have a wife and two boys (4 & 2) at home in Darwin that I miss tremendously.

It is very easy to forget why we do this when the loneliness becomes too much.

Your words and reassurance just puts it back into perspective.

Once again, thank you ever so much and please thank Sue as well.

Sincerely,

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Dear Karlene,

Sorry it has taken me so long to write this, I have been meaning to thank you for some time now.

I can't thank you enough for my fantastic quilt, it is a pride and joy of my little 1/8th of a tent that I have been calling home for the last few months. I am continuously impressed with the detail and the subtle features that you have put into it!

Well, Thank you once again Karlene. What you do really does make a big difference in our moral, it truly is a fantastic thing, I appreciate it very much! 

All the best and take care.

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Good morning Barbara

I received my quilt today, gee whiz the effort you put into it is phenomenal. I cannot thank you enough. In simple words, it's perfect. I have shown the quilt to some of my mess members and they were in awe.
How lucky was I to have a fellow St Kilda supporter make the quilt. I also have a bit of a sweet tooth, thank you for the goodies. I rang my wife and told her, she thinks that I have been kissed by the fairies.
I am so glad you had the pleasure of listening to the one and only premiership win, unfortunately for me I have watched two losses and a draw, very disheartening. Two of my sons also follow the Saints.

So far the deployment hasn't been too bad, we had a few port visits prior to entering the operational area. I don't know whether you saw it on the news, but we had a massive weapons haul on our first week of patrol. 

Am looking forward to coming home in July, my wife will travel to Sydney to meet the ship. We will stay in Sydney for a few days then drive home so as I can see the family. 

Once again, thank you so much for the quilt, bag, goodies and the kind words in your card. Your organisation means so much to so many. 

I wish you and your family all the very best for the future.
Regards


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I received a wonderful gift from Aussie Hero Quilts yesterday. A big thank you to all the ladies who contribute to this cause and a very special thank you to Elizabeth D. You captured all my wonderful travel memories and I could not have envisaged it any other way

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I hear from the chaplain on HMAS Darwin regularly and he often comments on the value of what we do.   A couple of days ago he passed this comment and said he was happy for me to share it.

"I was thinking too about this generation of sailors and officers. They live in a world that is more and more digital,  electronic and high tech. Quilts and LBs are not digital or high
 tech- but they are hand made.  That is becoming rare !   And that is another reason why the work of AHQ is so special." 
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I shared this on Facebook and now I am sharing it again here for our non-Facebook members.

Over the weekend I sent an email to the captain of HMAS Darwin with an update on how we are going sending the quilts and laundry bags to his crew. He asked me to share this message with you and to pass on his thanks......

"I hope you have seen the media coverage of our weapons seizure last week,  I just would like for you to pass on my thanks to you and your team, as the support that you provide us, helps us stay at sea and do our mission. The weapons seizure we had last week was big and taking those weapons off the 'street', will have saved lives. You and your team, deserve to share in the accolades!"

As far as I am concerned it doesn't get much better than that. 

Well done, or should I say, BZ Team!

If you missed the story you can check it out here

Till next time..................keep spreading the word and happy stitching!
Jan-Maree  xx