Grati-Tuesday 17 December

The first message tonight is not a thank you for quilts received, it is a thank you for what we do. 

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G’day Aussie Hero Quilts team.

               I am currently deployed on operations in the Middle East Region with 33SQN operating the KC30 Aircraft in support of operation Accordion. This is one of a handful of deployments I have completed in my time with the RAAF.

I just wanted to highlight how much we appreciate the work that Aussie Hero Quilts do and have done for so many years now. During my previous deployments I have seen first-hand the morale injection that is associated with your organisation, not only when receiving your gifts but just filling out the paperwork requesting them.

LAC XXXX suggested that we submit an application for the gifts whilst on this deployment and it was met with excitement from all the crew. This is the first time I have requested a quilt and I am also very excited.

Thank you for all that you do, we couldn’t be more appreciative.  

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Hi Kylie ,

I am the new lucky owner of the beautiful Laundry Bag you have sewn :)

I am currently posted on board HMAS Hobart, and we have been deployed since September in the North East Asian region. We are fortunate enough to be home a week early , and arrive in Sydney tomorrow the 6th of December.

I am an Aviation Technician in the Navy, which is essentially a sparky on Helicopters ! Here’s me pictured in front of the helicopter I maintain.

Wishing you a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. Thankyou again for this beautiful bag it will certainly be put to good use !

Kind regards

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Kylie,

I am writing to thank you for the excellent laundry bag. I am also pleased to inform you that this is a first. I’ve clocked 22 years in the Navy and from the very beginning all I’ve ever used was the white nylon netted ‘issue’ laundry bag. Now I can do my washing in real style without fear of my bag being mixed up or going missing ever again.

You will be interested to know that the bags arrived at the ship by the hundred and it was the very fact that it was made from tea towels that immediately attracted me to yours. My dear old Nan also collected tea towels from all over Australia and the sight of those souvenir ones brought back some very happy memories. Furthermore, I’m from Sydney and grew up in that city’s southern suburbs and as with most school kids in the Sydney Metropolitan area visited Jenolan Caves on a school excursion; so the happy memories were twofold. So you can rest assured that your laundry bag will remind me of only happy things each time I use it. It may even prove a fantastic conversation starter.

Lastly, thankyou far adding the titbit about your dancing daughter; It was very sweet. I have three dancing Daughters (and two non-dancing sons) and very much miss them all. But thankfully I’ll be home soon after almost three months deployed at sea.

Thank you again for your wonderful and thoughtful gift.

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Dear Sandy

I would like to explress my sincere thanks for the amazing quilt which I have just received.  It truly is a work of art.  I hope you and all that contributed have a wonderful and safe Christmas.

Regards

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Dear Bronwyn,

I don’t think I can thank you enough for the beautiful quilt you made for me. I can only apologise for the delay in reply, as I wanted to write to you in person rather than email, and time is ever in short supply.

The quilt is the most wonderful gift anyone has ever given me, from you, a complete stranger… I was moved to tears when I opened it. It is everything I love about Australia, all the vibrancy of life, and it reminds me everyday of how lucky we are.

Thank you for the thought and care you put into this blanket. I shall cherish it always, and look forward to putting it on a child’s bed one day.

I know it is a terrible waste, but in so far I have been too worried of the laundry bag going missing to use it for its purpose. But I have dreams of it being a Santa sack one day so rest assured it will also be much loved!

And finally, thank you for your letter, as it was as much the story behind the different pieces of material that made it all the more special.

Forever grateful for your time and effort, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

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Good Evening, Pennie.

Just a quick note to say thank you so very much for the beautiful Laundry Bag you made on behalf of Aussie Hero Quilts. I was fortunate to select yours and to receive your letter.

Approximately 220 Laundry Bags were sent to my crew who received them in Cairns on our way home from a 3-month deployment to East Asia. They were all very well received and we are truly grateful for the hard work that went into making them.

We all enjoyed an early Christmas Lunch at sea last Tuesday so we invited the crew down to the Ship’s Office to choose their ‘present’. Their reactions were priceless – lots of smiles and laughter as they worked their way through to making individual selections based on personal preference. Some found it extremely hard to choose just one but everyone’s taste was catered to and they were most appreciative.

For me personally, as the Captain, I couldn’t resist the navigation and nautical-inspired theme of your bag. I will cherish it always and it will come in very handy when next the ship leaves home port.

Thank you again and best wishes for the festive season.

Warm Regards,

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Hi Ruth,

Thank you very much for the amazing Laundry Bag you made and the yummy Shapes, it is absolutely perfect.

I’m a big superman fan and my little boy back home gets dressed up like Superman all the time. He is 7 months old and he has the same initials as me so I think this laundry bag will quickly become his when I get home.

The work you do for the ADF is nothing short of amazing and it is really appreciated to receive something that has clearly had a lot of time and care put into it. You definitely brightened my day and my room.

Keep up the awesome work Ruth, you are an amazing person!

Kind Regards,

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Dear Gail,

It was a great pleasure to have received your Quilt. I love the design you chose, it suits my little girl perfectly. Although she hasn’t received it yet, I have been able to Skype her and she says she loves it and can’t wait to take it to bed with her.

We are here in Iraq as part of Operation OKRA, which is the Australian Defence Force’s contribution to the international effort to combat the Daesh (also known as ISIS) terrorist threat. Our contribution is being closely co-ordinated with the Iraqui government and a broad range of international partners. As you can imagine there are not many places to buy my daughter a souvenir to gift to her when I arrive back n Australia. That makes this quilt very important to me and I know it will mean a lot to her.

On behalf of myself, and my family – Thank you. What you and Aussie Hero Quilts do helps us in a lot of different ways whilst we are deployed. I sincerely appreciate your generosity and hope you and Aussie Hero Quilts continue to provide us amazing support, and please thank your granddaughter for helping pick the colours.

Yours sincerely,

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Hi Bridget,

                  Hope you are well. I am writing to express my immense gratitude for the quilt you made for me earlier this year - thankyou and also pass on the same to Helen who you mentioned made the black and white blocks for my quilt. The quilt design reflects many of my loves in life and reflect them very well - thanks. I am in awe of the workmanship and passion you have put into it. I have a cousin in Victoria who is into quilting big time and she produces some fantastic pieces also - you are very talented!

I have a son serving in the Navy who was a recipient of a quilt a while back during his deployment in HMAS Warramunga to the gulf region for 9 months - I know he loves his quilt also. You and all the volunteers of AHQ quilts are doing a wonderful thing for the serving personnel of the ADF - Jan-Maree's initiative that has now become a labour of love for so many of you is first rate - thankyou!

I hope you and your family have a safe Christmas and New Year period - and don't spoil the poodle too much!

Kindest regards and thanks,

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Dear Janelle and Craig,

I’m 34 and I was fortunate enough to receive a lovely red laundry bag from you guys, thank you very much =)

I am currently posted to Rifle Company Butterworth in Malaysia for the Christmas period. I am a reservist soldier from Melbourne where we get 4 seasons in 1 day. This is my fourth time to Malaysia. I have been to the Solomon Islands twice and once to East Timor. 

In my civilian life I am a prison officer and a final year law student. I was only promoted a few weeks ago and to be honest the work here is very hectic. I don’t think I’ve called anyone back home in the last month. Reading your letter broke the tunnel vision I’ve had here focussing on the job. We will be heading out for a few weeks without phones soon, so I think I might have to give mum and dad a call before I go. I appreciate your kind gift and your letter.

Warmest regards,

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Hello Jenny,

I am emailing you to let you know I have received my quilt you have made for me.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart. The Quilt is absolutely perfect, I love it. You have done an amazing job. It is exactly as I pictured it would look like. The colours you have used are brilliant. I really appreciate the extra leaves you have included as I am sure I will have more grandchildren in the future.

I really appreciate all the time and effort you have taken to make the quilts for our ADF members. I imagine that this alone is a full time occupation. I don’t know how you have time with 4 grandchildren of your own. I’m hoping in the near future I will also be a retired grandmother like yourself.

Again I thank you for all your hard work making the beautiful quilts.

Kind regards

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Dear Ruth,

Thank you so much for the beautiful laundry bag you made for me. I absolutely love it!!!

It was so lovely to receive it, along with your lovely note. I currently work in a US headquarters so the Australian flag was the perfect addition to the top of the bag and I have say the black and silver worked well together. There were a number of American soldiers here who were very jealous of the bag!

Again, thank you. It is a amazing contribution that you make to supporting all of the soldiers who are away from their friends and families, and it makes a huge difference receiving something from all the way back in Australia! Thank you for what you do!
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Dear Heather,

Thank you so much for your kind generosity.  The bag you made for me looks amazing and I could not be happier with it.  The colours and patterns in the fabric capture the aquatic theme perfectly.  I absolutely love the turtles.

As an avid swimmer who has swum with turtles I hope you enjoyed making the bag.  I sincerely appreciate the time and effort you have put into it.  The included treats were a welcome surprise.  How did you know I like honey roasted cashews?

Thank you for sharing your interests and family connections to the ADF in the wonderful letter you wrote to me.  I am in the Air Force and this is my third overseas deployment.

It is reassuring to know deployed members like myself are supported by the public back home.  It’s always a pleasure to receive care packages especially at this time of year when many of us will be spending Christmas away from our families.

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Kind Regards,

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Dear Clarissa,

I have received my laundry bag and would like to take the time to thank you for the time and effort that you put into not only my bag, but for the time you sacrifice to volunteer for AHQ.

I enjoyed reading your letter and I’m glad that your family are all in good health and are succeeding in their chosen paths.

I requested the ‘Herc over the blue mountains’ theme as - like you I am also from Sydney, posted to Richmond and have been for 3 years. I currently live out close to AHQ HQ.  I work on the C-130’s as an avionics technician, which is essentially an auto electrician but smarter and better looking :)

Thank you so much for the laundry bag again (I won’t be losing my socks anymore).  Have a safe and merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Kind regards,
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Dear Anna,

First of all, I’d like to say that the quilt is absolutely amazing and better than I first imagined it would be. I love the design and colours you used (especially the grey ombre and the blood red for the Lannisters). Thank-you so much, I seriously had to take a second to just appreciate every detail of it, it really made me feel quite special. 

A bit about myself, originally I was from a small country town in NSW. I finished my high schooling there and joined the air force straight out of year 12 into a 1 year security role, kind’ve like a try before you buy, after deciding I enjoyed the airforce I decided to pursue my love for fixing things and transferred roles into becoming an Avionics Technician, most people look at me side ways wondering what in the hell an avionic is, but I describe it as an auto electrician but for planes. 

I spent 2 years training and studying in Wagga Wagga and then posted to Richmond NSW, to work on the C-130J Hercules. Ive lived there for 3 years, accompanied by my Labrador Cleo and more recently my partner and her cat Swazie (which is a pun on a famous actor, Patrick Swayze - get it?? Catrick Swazie hahaha) 

My Labrador Cleo does typical Labrador things like chew absolutely anything in existence, only the other day my partner told me she thew up a rock on our tile floor… Our cat is a rescue cat and was timid at first but now enjoys parkour’ing around the house. Together they are BFF’s.

My partner is also in the Airforce and we met on ANZAC day in 2018. Since then we have spent a lot of time apart as she was deployed before me and we had a 5 day overlap to hi-five and for me to come over but we continue to support each other despite the 8 months we have spent apart. She is also a massive GoT fan and is extremely jealous of my quilt. 

I loved being able to search your facebook profile to see the hard work and hours you put into the quilt that I now have here in my room and also to be able to read the comments on how lucky the person receiving it should feel, and I ensure you that I feel nothing short of it. Thank you for the treats and the ornament, 

Thank-you Anna, I really do treasure the quilt and also quite enjoyed reading about your love for all things geeky. I hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas and a Happy new year and that you don’t have to work too many hours over the Holidays.

Valar Morghulis,

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Dear Sandy, Jeanette, Di, Chris & Kay,

I am writing to thank you for the beautiful quilt I recently received from your wonderfully talented group. I am currently deployed as a nursing officer and the theme of the quilt is incredibly applicable to my current environment. I especially loved the personalised detail and inclusion of my dog Barney. My friend actually wrote to AHQ and requested this so it truly was a surprise when I opened the parcel.

I have always admired the work of Jan-Maree and her fantastic team. When we are away from home, getting something like this is a welcomed boost to morale and very much appreciated. The hospital team are currently working long hours, but we have a wonderful team and in true military style, it is like an extension of our families. It’s a great experience working with people from other countries and we have a lot of fun and laugh.

Thank you once again for the hard work that you do.

Regards,

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Hi ladies,

Firstly apologies for the tardy response it’s been 4 weeks since I received the very nice quilt cover that you made for me. I loved the design and colours that you came up with and I have great pleasure showing it off to my mates here.

The quilt will take pride and place in my guest room back home and I have no doubt many will want to know where I got it from, it’s a touch of home that has meant a lot to me over here and it will always be cherished.

Many thanks for your support you have shown to myself and the other diggers over here

Kindest Regards 

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Bridget

Sorry for the late reply, I have just returned from leave in Darwin. First of all thank you for the Blanket it is awesome, the Thomas the tank engine work was well beyond what I expected. My son  has just turned two and Thomas is his favourite at the moment. I had a Frozen blanket from a OP MAZURKA tour in 2015 made up for my daughter, she still loves it, she is now seven.

Thanks for all your work, I have been a soldier for 28 years, 11 of which have been in the Australian Army the rest the British. Almost all of the soldiers in my Company have never been on a tour before and I know the young lads have been blown away with all the blankets they have received especially as this will be their first Christmas away from family and friends on operations.

Having been away at Christmas on many occasions in many different not so nice places I can tell you we all appreciate the work that you do.

Thanks again, I hope you and your family have a great Christmas and a happy Hogmanay.

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

Jan-Maree xx