Grati-Tuesday 30 August 16

G'day all

Hope you are all having a great week. It is nearly Spring, can you believe it... at least for us down here in the Southern Hemisphere.....

Lots of great messages to read... enjoy!

.....

Good evening Jo,

Many thanks for the Laundry bag and quilt, Which I received it at the weekend, it must be fate that a history teacher made my quilt and laundry bag, as I was actually watching a favourite history show of mine on TV when I was given your parcel. "Time team"  don't know if you know it? its a UK show where archeologist have 3 days to conduct a dig and find out as much as they can about the place there at. Watching it always makes me wish I listened more during history lessons at school, lol

I was blow away when I opened the parcel and open up my quilt the design is outstanding, the time and effort that you must have put into both is amazing, I have to say the work that you and all the quilters of AHQ do is very much appreciated by not only me, but by all who receive them.

Pass on to your sewing group that the names you and they came up with for the Koala made me chuckle but he does have a name he's called "Rusty" which is a bit plain compared to there suggestions.

I also watched the Rugby 7's. 1 of the players helped out at a coaching clinic that my daughter attended a couple of years ago, yes it is a very different style of rugby to what the Reds play, very fast and enjoyable to watch, in total there were 8 QLDer's in the women's squad 4 of them with ties to Brisbane and the Reds.

The deployment  is tracking along nicely we are well over half way through my daughters tell me approximately 65 days left I get home.

again thank you for the quilt it is very much appreciated, hope your like the picture the quilt blends in nicely with our fire truck

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NOTE  -this recipient missed the birth of his twin baby girls whilst on deployment.

Hello Rita, 

Thank you for the lovely quilt, it is going to go beautifully in the twin's room. Just missed getting before going home for leave but I have it now and I love it. It was so good to finally meet my little girls but it was hard to turn around and come back to finish my deployment. 

I don't get to see them again until November but I'm sure the remaining time here will pass quickly. Thanks once again to you, Jan Maree and all the team of willing helpers for the great work you are doing for the ADF. I know that everyone here appreciates greatly the work you are all doing. 

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Dear Kate,

Thank you so very much for my wonderful gorgeous quilt and goodies.

I love it and very much appreciate all the effort you and your husband have been through to give me this amazing quilt.  I really appreciate everything you lovely ladies do for all of us deployed.  Other members are jealous and have tried to steal your quilt from me. 

It’s brilliant.  I love military history and you have done this perfectly.

I have been in the Army for 20 years.  I am an Ammunition Technician.  For this deployment I left behind my gorgeous cheeky one year old son and my husband, who is also a serving member and ammunition technician.

This has been my hardest deployment to date, having to leave my baby boy.

Again thank you for all your time and effort (blood, sweat and tears) in making my quilt.

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Hi Julie-Ann, 

I received the laundry bag you made for me with the lollies, Tim Tams and great card a few 

days ago.  I love the bag and it has filled my bedspace with colour, which is greatly 

appreciated. The Tim tams were shared around with my team and brought a lot of smiles 

to faces.  I know the service men and woman love the quilts and laundry





bags that are made and sent to us all. The bag you have made me is great,

exactly what I wanted.







They are all really appreciated and treasured. 





I am from Perth and my wife is also a serving member who has




previously deployed overseas. She is doing a great job with my kids who are 14



and 12. We have around 40 days left before we are heading home so 



really looking forward to it. My daughter who is 12 says I am not allowed to go

away again once I get back which breaks my heart because I know how much she


misses me. Six months is a long time away in a child's mind.







We are pretty lucky these days being able to ring on the 

phone each day which is so much better than when I was away a lot when they



were a lot younger. You sound like a very nice giving person who takes pride in







helping others. Your children will be forever grateful that you were there to



help with babysitting. I know my wife would love to have lived near some of our



family to have that help. 











I appreciate your thoughts and support.

.....




Hi Susan,



I just wanted to say thank you for the quilt, it is absolutely perfect. I also



appreciated the WW2 aircraft photos and the lollies you included, you went



above and beyond what I was expecting and couldn't be happier with it. I got the quilt



with the border collies and Australian theme, I'm not sure if you



have owned border collies before but I got a good laugh when I noticed you had



stitched one of the collies to look like it was chasing the emu's and kangaroos, 


as this is definately what my collies do back home! Once again.  Thank you very much, 




your hard work is extremely appreciated and doesn't go un-noticed.




Thanks,



.....




















Hi Joan, 



I just wanted to say thank you for the laundry bag you've made for me. It's a







great bag and fits the bill just fine! (its the bag with the Beechworth Bakery







on the front). Thanks for the letter and the wishes, they most definately don't



.....










Rosemary,










Thank you very much for the lovely quilt and additional sweet goodies


- it brought me great joy to receive, especially as it arrived at a time when I was feeling a little


low. It  brightened my day, as well as adding a welcome splash of colour in my room.  









Now as I am preparing to head home to Canberra to my husband



and daughter, I look forward to having it as a lasting memory of deployment.It is truly an honour









and a privilege to serve the Australian Public through deployed service as a

member of the Australian Defence Force and it is wonderful to receive the gift







of appreciation that you have provided.











Take Care and God Bless


.....



Good afternoon Jean, 



















Thank you so much for my laundry bag. Given that







you are not a football fan, you managed to do a really good job of coming up







with one that is Westcoast Eagles orientated. It looks great and I am really







really grateful for your time.  180 laundry bags are a lot of laundry bags - that







would keep you quite busy indeed. The fact that you personalise each one makes







receiving it, all that more special.































I have been in the Army for almost 26 years and this is my first long deployment (I deployed to East Timor back in 2002 but







only for a very short time). Whilst I don't have any children, the deployment has forced me away from my husband of 23 years and my female cat called Minxie.







We currently live in Sydney but will be posted to Canberra in 2017. 































I deployed back in April and I am due to go home







at the end of October. 































The deployment has been made a little more







special by the fact that I was deployed on Operations for ANZAC day. This day







made me feel quite proud to be a soldier in the Australian Army. 































My mum tried for many years to teach me to sew,







but I always used the excuse that because I'm left handed, it wasn't going to







be successful. Lucky for me, my husband is quite the sewer and as a result,



does all my sewing. 































My husband and I also love to travel overseas, but we







also love travelling on cruise ships (we have been on about 14 cruises thus







far). Africa is not a destination we have been to, but it sounds like quite the







adventure. I too love animals, and I agree, Africa would be amazing to see. 































Also, thankyou so much for the letter and little







gift that accompanied the laundry bag, it was so very thoughful. 































Until next time, take care and stay safe. 







.....







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








Jan-Maree xx