Grati-Tuesday 11 Jul 17

Firstly a special thank you to the wonderful ladies from Tumbarumba who made this beautiful hexagon quilt which was sent to a group of Aussies who are embedded on an American base. 
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To all the wonderful ladies at the Tumbarumba Women's Activities Group,

On behalf of all the Australian's at XXXXX thank you for the amazing quilt! 

A little while ago Jan-Maree got in contact with me as she had received a very special quilt that she believed could not just go to one person and needed to be enjoyed by many.  She was absolutely right - the quilt is simply beautiful with the care and work that has gone in to it evident.  It has taken pride of place in our "Aussie Room" here.  The Aussie room is our little piece of Australian, on an American Base in XXX (please see attached photo of how we have made it nice and comfortable - courtesy of AHQ).  The different scenes that every square holds are just so uniquely Australian and perfect to remind us all of home.  This gorgeous quilt will remain in the Aussie room for all current and future ADF personnel to enjoy.

Once again thank you for this amazing work of art.

Kind Regards,

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Hi Darrel, 

I was the lucky recipient of the Aussie Hero Quilt you made for me! 

I would just like to thank you so very much! I absolutely love my quilt. It is beyond what I ever imagined! It is so beautiful, and the theme and colours match me to a tee! The silk and crest just added the extra special dimension. This will be a keepsake that I treasure forever. 

Thank you so much for taking the time to make this quilt. 

Kind Regards, 

P.S: the tim-tams were also appreciated!! Haha :)

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Hi Debbie,

I cannot even begin to tell you how thrilled I was to receive the quilt you made me.  I could not be happier with the result.  I am a die hard Bulldogs fan, have been since I was a little girl, and you can imagine how I felt when they won the Premiership last year!  All of that is summed up in that gorgeous quilt.  With the 'cherry on top' of a signature from one of our greatest!

Funnily enough, I was supposed to come on this mission last year (I am on UNMISS - the United Nations Mission in South Sudan), and would have been away from August to February - obviously missing the Grand Final.  The Universe knew...and conspired to keep me in Australia so that I could fly down to Melbourne (I am based in Brisbane) to attend an event that I have been waiting (along with every Bulldog fan) my whole life for! 

Once again, thank you so much for your selflessness in making and sending the quilt.  I have attached a couple of photos.  One is of me and the quilt, and the other is of me at a local orphanage.    

Many thanks and please keep in touch.

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Dear Rosalin, 

I wanted to drop you a line and thank-you for the brilliant quilt and laundry bag that you were kind enough to make for me,  which I have just received.  My colleagues were also thankful for the tim-tams as well! 

This is my second six month deployment to the Middle East, and I've also previously served with the United Nations for twelve months in East Timor.  It was not until arriving on my current deployment that I had become aware of the Aussie Quilts project, and as soon as I had seen some of the many terrific quilts and laundry bags that many of our people had 

taken advantage of that I decided that I would like to get one as well.  Thank-you very much for the kind gesture and for taking the time to do this.  It is very much appreciated. 

We are currently "enjoying" close to 50 degree days each and every day here in the UAE, and the thought of swapping for the cooler delights of Canberra where I am currently based back in Australia seems very appealing.  Fortunately I have a two week break coming up next week, where I will be joining my partner for a couple of weeks holiday in the UK, which I'm very much looking forward to. 

It was nice to learn about your family, and to find out that you have a son serving in the Navy.  I'm sure that you are justifiably proud of all of your family.  For you to also spend 

your time making a quilt and laundry bag for someone that you have never met, when you had so much else going on in your life, was very generous of you.

This will be my last deployment in the Navy, as after 41 years of service I will be retiring soon after my return home, and will be relocating to my home town by late November.  I've had a great time along the way, but have to admit that I can't wait to finally retire and start ticking-off some of the many things on my bucket list.  My quilt and laundry 

bag is going to be a very nice reminder of my final deployment. 

Kind Regards 

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Greeting Tracie,

Thank you for the amazing quilt.  It was such a lovely surprise as I did not know that my wife had contacted Aussie Hero Quilts on my behalf.  I do love Disney and Aladdin.  The Genie, of course, is my favourite character from the movie.  Your rendition of the Genie is quite amazing and something that I really enjoyed unfolding and seeing.

As I mentioned before, the package was a huge surprise for me and without you kind letter, I would not have understood why I had received it.  Initially I thought it was something that I was meant to pass on to someone that I found to be deserving of it.

I don’t think of myself as a hero, I am just trying to do a job that I hope can make a positive difference in some way.

After reading you letter and at the earliest opportunity, I had to message my wife with my delight for the quilt, only to have it revealed that she had orchestrated it to an extent.

I sent her a picture of the quilt and she also was quite amazed at the hard work and effort you put into it.

The timing of the arrival of your package was quite good, as I had just been through a bit of a bleak couple of days.   However, opening your package left me feeling very happy and proud. I am left with a feeling of deep respect and awe for people like yourself who are doing this for us just because you want to do something nice for someone else.

The Tim Tams were very well received by my entire team.  I don’t know that they lasted the hour.

Once again thank you very, very much.  The quilt is truly wonderful and I will cherish it for a long time to come.

Many thanks,

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Hi Ruth, 

I am deployed on HMAS Arunta for OP MANITOU. I am also from XXXXX so not far away from where you live in Adelaide 

I just wanted to say thank you for the laundry bag that you made for me. Myself and the other sailors really appreciate the effort that you and people like yourself go to, to thank us for our service.  We really appreciate everything you do. 

Thanks Again 

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Hi Joan & Robin,

I just wanted to let you know that I received the laundry bag that you made for me recently. Thank you very much for this gift. It is terrific and I’m very grateful for it. I really like the colours in it, and putting my initials on it is a nice touch. It goes a long way towards brightening up my otherwise pretty dull room, and is certainly a major improvement over the standard plain blue bags that we are issued with over here in the Middle East! 

The laundry bags and quilts are very popular and much appreciated by everyone here, and there is always a lot of anticipation around when they will arrive in the mail. They definitely make our camp a lot more colourful as you see people walking around with them. You would maybe be surprised how much the laundry bags and quilts are a feature of our camp here, though given that your son deployed to the MER you probably know this!

It is very impressive how many bags you two have made over the years, and I think your commitment to doing this is admirable. Please know that they are greatly appreciated over here.

I’m almost half way through my deployment, so I still have a few months to go. It is relentlessly hot here now that we are nearing the peak of summer, 47-50 degrees every day, but I much prefer this to a Victorian winter, so no complaints from me (except when it’s humid as well – then we all complain a bit!). 

I will endeavour to get some photos done in the near future and I will send them through once I have them. 

Many thanks and best wishes

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Dear Irene (and Ruby and Jack)

I’m writing to thank you for making my laundry bag.

It has exceeded my expectations and I am very happy with it.

I have asked for a quilt as well and I am excited to see it when it arrives.

All the lads in my section have been just as impresses as I am with their laundry bags and quilts.

We are all very grateful to you and all the other people who take the time and effort to make us quilts.

It was nice to hear about your dogs.  I have a boxer at home, though he stays with my parents most of the time.

I miss him very much and am looking forward to seeing him again in September.  His name is Barry.

Again, thank you very much for the laundry bag.

Myself and the other lads are very grateful.

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

Jan-Maree xx