Grati-Tuesday 15 October 2019

I love to get mail! ...especially a package.  The Recipients who have written the following
letters to those they don't know, who have sent them a Quilt or a Laundry Bag, show
how much they have loved receiving their packages.

Kristie,

Let me start this letter with a simple thank you.  Thank you for your support, thank you for my wonderful quilt and laundry bag, and thank you for all those you have and will give your support to.

I was very excited to receive the first parcel, finding the laundry bag nestled amongst the treats only heightened my anticipation for the quilt. The deep blue and the black and red materials are right up my alley and I am super chuffed at the excellent work you put in. The best thing about it is taking it to and from the laundry. It is about a 1 km walk from where I work via the laundry to where my accommodation is and I usually bump into people along the way and stop to have a chat to them.

Picture this, a 30 year old Major in camouflage uniform with body armour and a helmet walking along the dusty roads of Camp XXXX, carrying a bright laundry bag with Darth Vader on it. I get a real kick out of the way people react, and it is a great opportunity to plaster a cheeky grin on my face and talk to the importance of embracing your passions.

I received the quilt yesterday and I am absolutely wrapped with the work you have done. Thank you again for the time, care and effort you have put into it. I assure you that it will be a treasured item that I will hold onto for a very long time. It has pride of place on my bed over here; I have included a picture of it so you can see how well it matches the pillow case I brought over from home. The combination of the Star Wars with the Lego was a true stroke of genius.

Ladies of the Night is a bit of an older colloquialism, but one my mother would use. Very cheeky! You could also try “Crafternoon Tea Club” or (earmuffs for the kids) “Stitch and Bitch Club.” You talked about slowly building your skills, I can attest (with evidence) to the clear progress you have made. Again, both the laundry bag and the quilt are incredible.

Best wishes to you and your family,

.....

Hello Kerry,

First off let me say thank you for the laundry bag it is amazing I absolutely love it looks so cool!

I have not actually watched Gotham I have been meaning to I have heard it is really good. My personal favourite Batman was the one in the 90's with Danny Davito as penguin.

I am currently in XXXX and it has been so hot it is consistently in the low 40's and that is now that it is starting to cool down. For a few months it was getting up to 50 degrees so it was just awful. I used to think Sydney summers were hot but now I am looking forward to getting back to it and spending some time down the beach with mates. I am very jealous that you live so close to the beach I would spend all my time there if I lived so close.

I did enjoy the goodies thank you so much for them! Tim Tams are definitely worth their weight the Americans here go crazy for them so we use them to grease the wheels and get them to help us out (We also eat a fair bit ourselves).

Thank you so much for everything it is such a sweet thing to do we really appreciate what you ladies do puts huge smiles on our faces. 😃       

Take care and have a lovely Christmas with your children and grandchildren.

Thank you again.
.....

Hi Jen,

Thank you so much for the laundry bag and box of goodies, it really means alot to receive the support from back home.

Thanks to the team at AHQ for the amazing work they do.

Thankyou,
.....

Hello Heather,

Greetings from Afghanistan!

Firstly I would like to apologise for the delay in contacting you.

Secondly thank you for the beautiful laundry bag! I absolutely loved receiving it and the goodies you packet into the box.

The colours and cocktails are just perfect and have brightened my room up!

The work that you and the team at Aussie Heroes do is amazing and means so much to us all. The joy I witnessed as my room mate opened her own parcel today reconfirmed the happiness your work brings to our small corner of the world over here.

A little bit about me. I am a RA Sigs Captain. I have been in Army for almost 10 years and this is my first deployment. I am a XXXX girl but was posted to sunny Townsville prior to deploying. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Townsville but will be posting to Melbourne when I return home at the end of the year. It will be the first time since joining that I will be back in Victoria for an extended period of time and I am beyond excited. 

Mum is also just as excited to have me in the same state. My Father is also a current serving member. He is posted to Wagga and deployed last year. Dad and I are fortunate to get such wonderful opportunities in the last few years though it is my Mum and older sister who are the real heroes in all of it. They have been such wonderful support for Dad and I throughout our careers and even though the last few years have been tough, they remain supportive. I was fortunate enough to take my leave home in September formy sister's wedding. It was a wonderful family celebration and the first time in a long time the 4 of us had been in the same location.

Heather again thank you for the laundry bag and the time you commit to supporting us.

Take care.

Kind Regards,

.....

Dear Jane,

I am writing to thank you for the amazing laundry bag I recently received in the post. I really appreciate the level of detail that you have captured in the design. My friendd, who is also a nursing officer, actually requested this on my behalf, so it truly was a surprise!

I am currently working in a multi-national hospital and it’s been a wonderful experience. We go through periods of being very busy, but we all work together and we have some fun along the way.

I have approximately 2 months left until I get home. Looking forward to being back with Barney and my fiancé. Thank you once again for all you and AHQ do for deployed personnel.

Kind regards,

.....

Hello Melissa,

Thank you so much for making me the Hero Quilt and laundry bag, you have put in so much time and effort to make this for me with your busy schedule.

I wanted to let you know, I absolutely love it, it will certainly brighten up my room.

I love the pictures and your choice of patterns and the blues and greens, it has really made my day to receive this gift.

Also, I thank you for telling me about yourself and family, it was nice to read a letter from someone.

I can totally relate to your busy schedule, as I am a single mother of two teenaged boys . 

Anyway, Thank you again for my quilt and laundry bag, it has been a great highlight for me here.

......

Dear Jenny,

Thank you very much for the quilt you made for me. It was the RAE Sappers quilt, with blue and red stripes and a black kangaroo. It was very well done and it brought a big smile to my face; it now sits proudly on my bed!

I would also like to extend my gratitude to Aussie Hero Quilts. You guys do an amazing job and you are greatly appreciated by everyone deployed overseas. I am an Engineer based in XXXX. My job is to look after all of the infrastructure throughout Iraq for the ADF, which is very interesting. I am just over half way through my deployment, and about to take some leave in Europe which I'm looking forward to.

Thanks again!

.....

Dear Sandy, Jeanette, Judith and Jenny,

I am writing to thank you all for the perfect quilt that I received on the 28^th July 2019. It’s too good to use here however I will put it on display when I get home with my partner’s and the remainder of our work “trophies”. I’ll keep it forever.

I’m from the Mid North Coast also, my family are at XXXXX so I will be driving through Coffs when I get home next month as I am posted to Brisbane.

The weather in the Middle East is unbearably hot at the moment. I miss the luxuries we take for granted in Australia. Clean drinking water and clean air, grass and greenery and a comfortable living temperature.

No thanks is needed for our service, we are just doing the job we chose to do.

Thank you again for the quilt.

Regards
......

Good morning Hilary.  I am an Aviation Support Sailor on HMAS Canberra

and I was fortunate enough to have received the laundry bag you so kindly made many months ago now! I am sorry it has taken me so long to thank you as we have had a busy year. So, thank you very much. It was very kind of you and others who made laundry bags for my ship mates. The bag has been put to good use. This year we sailed on a 5 month deployment through the Indian and Pacific oceans, visiting Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and

Indonesia. As your husband and son know, it was quite challenging being away from home and loved ones for such a long time so I was very happy to get home.

Thank you again Hilary.

“Fair winds and following seas” 

......

Great messsages.  

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

Jan-Maree xx