A rather special message to start today's gratitude post off. How cute is this?
.....
I
have had my Aussie Quilt since my gulf trip on HMAS Melbourne. It is a
special made quilt as it used one of the last pieces of fabric my mum gave
me before she passed.
This quilt has gotten me through some
tough times and some amazing adventures. It has been taken and displayed
on every rack since I received it.
It's now taking on one of the biggest changes in my Naval career.
Words can't express my gratitude for the Aussie Quilt Heroes and all the hard work that goes on to support our troops.
.....
Good
Morning Lyn,
I
hope this email finds you well. Firstly
I would like to apologise for not getting back to you earlier. I received your
quilt about two weeks ago. I have been extremely busy and didn’t want to send a
rushed email.
The
quilt was amazing, I was blown away with it and I am so grateful for your
efforts, all those who have received there quilts have been over the moon with
what they have received, however I think mine was above and beyond. I am a very
passionate Essendon supporter so I think it is such a wonderful gift. That
being said, the time and effort that must go into making it really does blow me
away. Again, I cannot thank you enough for the time and effort you must put
into to making the quilts, the trick now will be keeping it from my Father
(also a mad one eyed Bomber supporter).
A
little about myself, I have been in the Navy for a little over 20 years. I have
served predominately out of Darwin, which was great for me as I am a Darwin
local. I have always served on patrol boats and dedicated my career to them.
I am currently the chief engineer on board which is a role I thoroughly
enjoy and have now served for the last three years on Glenelg. I was lucky
enough to commission Glenelg into service over ten years ago. We sailed down to
Glenelg to conduct the ceremony which was a wonderful experience.
Anyway,
once again I would like to thank you for the quilt and wish you and your family
all the best and a safe Christmas.
Cheers
.....
Dear
Robyn,
My
apologies for the late reply of gratitude for the lovely quilt you sent
me. I thoroughly enjoyed receiving your package and reading your letter -
it truly was a highlight of my deployment. A very big thank you to Vicky
and Keryn also for their contribution. I am thoroughly touched by your
thoughtfulness and generosity.
Whilst deployed,
we created a band called 'Al and the Minhads', named after the base we were
stationed. Every 2 weeks, the welfare committee has a bar night available
to those on camp. In order to bring people out of their rooms and
socialise in a 'normal' way, we would perform live music for them. It was nerve wracking but exciting all at the same
time. As the saying goes, 'build it and they will come', and that they
did. After this first performance, we had musicians approaching us, also
wanting to perform. For the 24 people that made their way through our
band, and the countless others that utilised the music room that we maintain on
base, music is their comfort. It is their happy place in an area of
isolation, where work is everything and you are away from the comforts of
home. While I was away, I re-honed my skills on the acoustic guitar,
learnt the bass guitar, drums and electric guitar. I performed songs way
outside of my comfort zone and it was an absolute delight to know that the
music we were performing for others was making their time away from home that
teensy bit more enjoyable.
.....
G'day James,
I received the quilt that you made for me 4 days ago
and have finally found some time to write you back. You did an amazing job, it
came out exactly how I wanted it to be. I really appreciate the time and effort
you put into the gift. I also apologise for having to make you run around to
the bottle-o just so you could get the design perfect. The sweets were a
nice addition to the package as well, seeing the Tim Tams as I opened the
package had me cheering.
Again, I would like to say thank you very much. I
appreciate everything you have done and I hope you are going well.
......
Dear Bridget,
Thank You very much for the laundry bag, I love the design and it
was beyond my expectations.
I am married with one 3 yr old daughter. My reunion with them at
the airport was quite tearful as I missed my family dearly and especially my
daughter as she would often ask her mum about me and want to see me.
Thanks again for the bag and letter. I am sure it will get used
much on future exercises and deployments.
Take care
......
Dear Mrs Ball,
I am writing on behalf of the crew of HMAS Dechaineux to personally thank you for
gifting the crew laundry bags prior to our North East Asia deployment. We
greatly appreciate the time and effort that you and your fellow volunteers have
invested in creating such vibrant pieces; they have been well received by the
crew. Walking through the boat, you can see the bags strung up between
switchboards, hanging from torpedo racks or from air reservoirs, or curiously
tucked pretty much anywhere else there is space, which gives the boat a welcome
colourful splash.
As submariners, our achievements often go unseen while we
conduct our business; however, it is extremely heartening to receive these
gestures of unconditional appreciation for our service. My crew have shown an
increased sense of pride in their service knowing that there are Australians
like yourself who take the time to show your appreciation for what we do. To
each of the sewers that contributes to the wonderful organisation that is
Aussie Hero Quilts, I send a warm and wholehearted thank you.
Yours sincerely,
.....
Dear Anne,
Thank you for the wonderful quilt and laundry bag, I’m very
happy with both of them. The colours you have chosen brighten up my room. I
would like to compliment your workmanship on both the quilt and laundry bag,
they will both stay with me for a long time. I especially like the fact that
you have added a hanging pocket for a rod to hang.
I’m married with 1 daughter who is in year 12 and we
currently live in Townsville. I come from a military background as my father
served for some 25 odd years. This coupled with my service has seen me live in
all states apart from NT and Tasmania. I was fortunate to also spend my high
school years in Port Moresby when my father was posted there.
This is my third deployment overseas, first deployment was
to Pakistan to assist when they had an earthquake back in 2005. My second was
to Afghanistan in 2013 and now this one to the UAE. My time here is just about
over and I will be heading home in early March. This should be my last
deployment as I’m due to retire in 2 years after 35 odd years’ service.
Once again thank you for making me a quilt and laundry bag, it is much
appreciated.
Regards,
.....
Dear Jan,
I’m just writing a quick note to thank you for organising
the absolutely amazing quilt and laundry bag that I received. I was only after a laundry bag as I didn’t
want to cause all the trouble of a whole quilt for someone! Let me just say from
the get-go that both items far exceeded anything that I was hoping for. They
are both incredible! It turned out so much better than I anticipated – so much
better than my dodgy concept drawing.
I think this is about
my eighth or ninth deployment now. This is the second one since becoming a dad
to my two little boys (aged 4 and nearly 2). I’m hoping that this will be the
last one for a great many years as it’s been horrible being away from them. I
did just get back home for 2 weeks of R&R which was fantastic and I guess
I’m lucky in that I will be home in time for Christmas.
I intend to put the quilt on my son’s bed when I get back
from here and the laundry bag will be a permanent fixture in my travel bag from
now on as I travel about the country in the future.
I’m sure
that you probably don’t get enough thanks for the job that you do and it must
be nice to get something back in return once in a while. I have sent similar letters and little tokens of my
appreciation to Ruth and Sandy who did the work as well to say thanks and will
attempt to email the pics to them once I have them.
Thank you ever so much. I really appreciate the effort that
you went to.
.....
Hello Sue B,
Thank you for your card, I loved reading it.
I am a clerk in the Army, so lots of admin and finance work.
I too have a pup who doesn’t understand walking in a
straight line is what well behaved dogs do! His name is Spud and he is a Griffon.
I am glad you enjoyed making my laundry bag! I absolutely
love it! So cute, and I love that you took my colour pink request seriously.
The extra goodies were also very thoughtful.
I have given a few laundry bags out to the girls in my
office – they say “Thanks, Sue.”
Anyway, a very big thank you. Your package really did
brighten up my day!
Say hi to Nixon
.....
Dear Sue,
Thank you so much for your thoughtful and homely presents. I
love them so much, and cried a little. They really made my day, and it was such
a great feeling when I saw the package as I had just arrived in the Middle
East.
I have two little girls aged 7 and 4, their Dad has been
very supportive of my career and service. He is doing a fabulous job back home
looking after them and makes sure I can be assured to serve my country.
I love the pattern you chose for me, it is just beautiful
and so colourful. Australian native flowers are my favourite and you just
nailed it!
Thank you so much for sewing my initials on my bag, which
made me feel super special. What you do for deployed defence members is
priceless and amazing.
Thank you for your lovely letter, Tim Tams and handmade
items, I really appreciate you spending the time in making these precious gifts
for me! I will cherish all of them and I think of you all the time.
Sue, thanks again, and I wish all the best to you and your
family.
.....
Hello Pennie,
Thank you very much for the wonderful laundry bag, it looks
great! It’s also the perfect size.
I appreciate that you’ve dedicated your time and money into
this bag. I can tell that you’re very passionate about sewing, the quality
really shows through.
I am an Avionics (electrical systems) Technician working on
a modified Boeing 737 called a Wedgetail (It looks like it has a surf board on
its back).
Sometimes it feels like I am working on a patient that is a
big cry baby, it always has something to complain about.
I love Europe, I went to Switzerland last year and was
absolutely blown away by the beauty of it, I felt as if I was living in a fairy
tale.
I can only imagine how stressful being an Emergency Nurse
must get. I get a great feeling knowing there are people out there looking
after others in need, thank you.
Kind regards,
......
Dear Natalie,
Firstly and foremost, thank you so much for the laundry bag you
took the time to make for me. Like a typical bloke I didn't give much thought
to my laundry needs and deployed without a laundry bag. But beyond the
practicality of the laundry bag it's really nice to know people back home
are thinking of us over here and wishing us well for our safety and success.
The experience so far has completely changed the way I see the world and how
lucky we are in Australia.
It sounds like you enjoy being creative and I can relate. I
make knives from raw materials. I too
enjoy giving them away and take pleasure seeing someone's face light up when
they receive it as a gift. With any luck I will still be making knives when I'm
an old man.
Thank you again for taking the time to help out and say
thank you to someone you have never met before. The world is a better place
having you in it and you have made a difference in mine. Thank you and keep
well
.....
What a lovely bunch of messages.
Till next time... keep spreading the word and happy stitching!
Jan-Maree xx
Lovely.
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