Grati-Tuesday 5 Nov 19

Sandy at the keyboard for this Post as Jan-Maree is "snowed under"!  
She has arrived home today, after the wonderful Thank You Weekend in Canberra, 
and the multitude of tasks and contacts associated with such events...and
has SO much to catch up on.  Request List emails are a priority at the 
moment and she's working hard to get through them and keep
us all working on the Quilts and Laundry Bags for our Aussie Heroes.
She has more thank you letters to publish, but these will have to do
for now and the rest will follow next week.

Jan-Maree is always organising surprises for AHQ volunteers but on
Friday night at the Quilters' Gathering, she was the one who was
surprised when she was presented with this amazing piece of work by
the very talented Lucy Sattler.  Jan-Maree and many of us have been 
watching the emergence of this gorgeous Poppy piece on FaceBook over the past weeks.
The good news is that Lucy has created a video Tutorial for this that people
will be able to buy BUT she is giving this as a Thank You gift to all AHQ volunteers.
Jan-Maree will give details of how to receive this gift Tutorial in the 
coming days...watch this space ;-) 

Hello Anne

I would like to thank you for making my quilt.  Personally I like the two tone border around the centre kangaroo patch.  I love how you have improvised the colour scheme whilst still adding all the information that I have ask for, with the large poppies adding a nice finishing touch at each end.  The dollar signs symbolise the position I’m currently doing over here. I work in finance managing the cash flow on behalf of Defence in the HQJTF task group.

I have noticed that other people like designs of their hobbies or things that remind them of their home.  For me, the quilt design is a memory of my role that I’m supporting and will be a reminder of this deployment well into the future.  I think you have done an excellent job to create this quilt and I promise that those errors you have mentioned just add more character.

I like to dabble in sewing myself, but I currently never had the time to create a laundry bag, let alone a quilt.  I have met some wonderful Australians over here with some of them being avid sewers.  In my down time, I have managed to visit some haberdashery stores in Dubai with them and have found a variety of material, nothing like I’ve seen back at home.

I would have replied to you earlier, but I received your parcel late August, just before I was preparing to take some leave to meet up with my family for the school holidays, so I could send a reply worthy of your effort I waited until I returned from my break.

Once again thank you very much, it is something that will always remind me of my deployment and the wonderful people who support us from home.

Kind regards

......

Hi Kate,

Firstly, thank you for my kinds gifts and the laundry Bag, I love it.

I actually really like the Irish moment, adds character !!! My work colleagues have benefited from sharing in the delicious treats, they pass on their thanks.

Thank you for your support, I know I speak on behalf of everyone here that we really appreciate everything everyone back home does for us, t goes a long way to helping us focus on our jobs.

I lived down in Sale when I was growing up.  You description of the start of spring sparked fond memories of home.

The sea change to QLD sounds awesome, I am posted to Qld and really like the weather, and the beach lifestyle. One of the first things I will do when I get home is go for a swim in the ocean.

The weather here is starting to cool down a bit, which is nice. I have recently been to Afghanistan and it starting to get pretty cold there. We even got the first drops of snow on the mountain surrounding Kabul.

One again, thank you for your support, it really means the world to all of us over here.

Kind Regards

......

Dear Gail,

Thank you kindly for the beautiful quilt you made for me. I was very excited when it arrived in the mail. It is just what I asked for, and I love the colours and patterns you selected. It has certainly brightened my room. I appreciate the time and effort that you have taken to make this quilt, and it warms my heart that you do this out of the goodness of your own heart. I can’t wait to take it home to show my children.

I am married with four children, all girls. My husband has done a tremendous job and my girls have also helped Dad in my absence. This was my first deployment, so the first time I have been away from my family for so long.

I have enjoyed my deployment, in that it has given me an appreciation of what our Service members do and experience on deployment. But most of all, it has given me great satisfaction in being able to support members in need. I am an Army psychologist, and have served full-time for nearly 1t5 years. My family and I have had the opportunity to live in all different parts of Australia as part of my role. My grandfather and cousins have also served in the Army.

Thank you for what you have done for deployed service personnel over nearly the last eight years, your efforts and support are generous and gratefully received.

Kindest regards,

.....

Dear Sue,

I would like to thank you, your husband and family for the really beautiful quilt, It has really touched my heart at the amount of effort you have put into my quilt. I wish you all the best in the future and appreciate the effort and gratitude you put into the Aussie Hero's program.

Thank you so much

.....

Dear Sue N

 You already know my name as you sent me the beautiful quilt, but let me tell you a bit about myself. I am a Corporal in the RAAF as a Firefighter. I am 49 years old, with 4 children and 4 grand children. I joined the ADF in 1995 in the Army as an Engineer. I stayed as an Engineer for 18 months before transferring to be a Firefighter. I stayed in the army for 20 years and 8 months before changing to the RAAF as a Firefighter. I progressed through the ranks in the Army where I made it to Warrant Officer Class 2 (WO2).

 It is good to know that we are thought of back home. The quilt you made for me is absolutely amazing. It is everything I could ever have imagined.

The quilt will be hung on the wall for all to see. 

 I would like to take this opportunity to thank you from the bottom of my heart. The quilt is the best thing that I have ever received in my military career. I wish you and your children and 2 cats the very best in the future. May you also have a wonderful Christmas coming up with plenty of good times. I am sure the next person to receive a quilt off you will be as satisfied as I am. You have no idea how much this quilt touched my heart or how much it means to  me.

  Thank you very much and much appreciated

PS: I.m also using the pen you sent me to write this letter.

.....

Jen,

Thank you so much for the laundry bag and quilt! The laundry bag is now a daily use item and the quilt is the first thing I see every time I wake up or walk into my room and reminds me of home. I am so grateful to you and all those who selflessly give their time and efforts to supporting all of our Australian troops.

The treats were excellent as well, a small touch of home goes a long way over here and I could finally show some of our coalition allies how good Tim-Tams are. All but the British have conceded that we have the superior biscuit.

About me, I have a wife and son still in Australia doing it hard without me. My son loves animals as well, his favourites are snakes at the moment but loves to watch the meerkats play whenever we take him to the zoo and yells “hello, hello” as they look around and pop in and out of their burrows.

We have a Dog named Bruce who is a Bull Mastiff that we rescued from Bankstown four years ago. He is such a gentle giant and an excellent protector for my son.

When we are home we all like to go on family walks as well and try to get out to some of the beautiful national parks when we can, although we do not have any $49M bridges to speak of.

You are right to doubt the mail system, it is touchy at the best of times and reliant on spare space on flights from Australia. Luckily the Tim Tams didn’t melt too much on the way.

I feel honoured that I am the recipient of your first quilt and love the design and colours, you have done a spectacular job and I look forward to when my son is old enough to explain the significance of the emblems and the true Australian spirit shown by all those who support Aussie Hero Quilts and support our deployed soldiers.

Kind regards,

......

Dear Anne,
This is a quick thank you for making my ‘Aussie Hero Quilt’.  You literally bought a tear to my eye when I saw it.  It is absolutely beautiful and will hold special meaning to me.  The surf boards in particular was a great touch as I come from a surfing family.   I particularly enjoyed reading your letter. 
Of way of introduction, I am an Australian Army Nurse, and my role here is co-ordinator conducting MEDEVAC missions to our injured or ill soldiers of all nationalities.  Your letter indicated that you made quilts for Ronald Macdonald House, so that put a big smile on my face.
I wanted to let you know that these quilts make a big difference and we are the envy of our coalition partners.
Thanks again.
......

Dear Pennie,

Thank you so much for my beautiful laundry bag. I almost cried when I saw the Llama fabric, that was exactly what I had in mind. It was lovely to hear how the fabric came to you. I have spent a bit of time in Paris myself. I am in the Air Force and my role is a Crew Attendant or more commonly known as an ‘air hostess’, I have been flying for the past 17yrs. This deployment was an opportunity to spread my wings and increase my military skills.

Thank you for volunteering to make my laundry bag, it is lovely to receive parcels from afar. Good luck with your French and continue to enjoy travelling Europe. Our next big adventure is Disneyland.

 .....

Dear Anne,

I just wanted to send you a note to say thank you so much for the beautiful laundry bag that you made and we received after the Townsville floods in February this year (apologies for how long it has taken me!). We live just North of Townsville and were affected early on when Creek flooded, before the main river flooded in town. As well my husband is in the RAAF and his unit was heavily involved in assisting people with the clean up afterwards - it was devastating to see how much damage there was and how much people had lost.

So it was lovely to receive your gift and much appreciated - such a personal one too being hand made. It brightened our day!

Thankyou again for all you do in supporting our troops at home and away.

 ......

Dear Anne J

Firstly I would like to say that you all are an incredible bunch of individuals and what you do makes a massive difference. I can’t even begin to thank you enough for my AMAZING quilt! I wish I had the ability to put into words how incredible the feeling was when I received the package. It’s really touching that you don’t know who I am but have put so much time and love into making my beautiful quilt. It truly made my week and now continues to make every day that little better as it’s the first and last thing I see.

A little about me… I was born and grew up on the gold coast before joining defence. I joined defence as a Medic, as I have always had a passion about caring for and helping people. Before I joined I worked in aged care facilities and a Hospital. I am currently posted to Amberley (that’s how I’ve have the pleasure of meeting Michelle) however, have been giving the incredibly opportunity to deploy. My husband is also in the RAAF and had just returned from deployment before seeing me off.

I would once again like to thank you! Could you also please pass on the thanks to Michelle for arranging my quilt for me.

......

Hi Robyn! 

I received my quilt and I just wanted to thank you so much for putting the time that you did into making it along with the beautiful letter you sent with it. 

How was your weekend in Canberra?

I hope you and your partner are doing well, and I thank you again for the time you put into making this quilt for me! I’ll appreciate it for years to come! 

Sending prayers to you also! 

Lots of thanks 

......

Until next time,
Sandy