Grati-Tuesday 17 March 2020

What a great Post to lift the spirits and encourage us all to keep

sewing the Quilts and Laundry Bags

for our deployed Aussie Heroes.  

I love their letters of thanks with small glimpses into their lives and

it really makes me happy to see them with their quilts on their beds

or holding them up in their place of Service.

Happy reading...

Dear Bev and Geoff,

I received my quilt and laundry bag yesterday and just wanted to send you a 
quick email to say thank you!

The quilt is beautiful - better than I even imagined it would look, it will definitely be treasured for many years to come. I’ve attached a picture of it on my bed, it has definitely brightened my room up and made it a lot more inviting :)

The linen bag is also beautiful - I can’t bring myself to use it just yet, it looks too nice to be putting dirty clothes into! Everyone especially loves the detail of the clothes line with my initials on it.

Thank you for the tim tams too - I shared them with everyone in my office, they definitely didn’t last long :)

Everyone over here loves receiving their quilts and are always keen to show them off to people! Thanks again and wishing you both all the best. 

......

Dear Sue N 

      I am writing to convey my thanks for the quilt that you made for me, which recently arrived. My thanks also for the laundry bag. A lot of time and effort clearly went into these beautiful gifts. Thank you!.

      I and other members of the Task Group, appreciate your support. It is nice to know that someone is thinking of us while we are here.

      Please pat your cat for me - it is something I cannot do while I am here, as we cannot safely or hygienically keep pets. We always had a cat (or two) around the house growing up, and they are good company.

   Best Regards.

.....

Dear Sandy,

Thank you so much for my absolutely amazingly beautiful quilt. I will treasure this artwork my entire life and cannot appreciate how much thought and effort you put into this artwork.

In my limited down time here, I go to the gym, read and socialise. When at home, I like to spend my spare time with my family and friends and enjoy running and swimming.

This is my first deployment and I have found it so far to be an amazing experience. I have made lots of friends for life from all over the world and love my work here. I enjoy how close the medical team is and how we work well together. I get to see the other side of health care here and get to work in a lot closer with the Doctors and Nurses than I would get in a civilian job back in Australia.

Thank you so much.

.....

I had a wonderful surprise as this beautiful quilt found its forever home.

Thank you Pennie.

The quilt is amazing in its colour and contains much that reminds me of my two home countries. As does the goodies from both sides of the world, the Scottish “tablet”, the South Aussie fruchocs and Aussie classic favourites.

This really made my day, week and month.

.....

Good evening Jean,

I have just received the personalised laundry bag you made. It is outstanding, thank you very much! I love the colours and patterns you have chosen, and particularly the Phillip Island circuit map on it.  Phillip Island holds a special place in my heart as it was the first MotoGP race I ever went to (Casey Stoner won), and I have since returned on multiple occasions. I was also fortunate to be posted to Melbourne city a few years ago and was lucky enough to experience the track on my sports bike during designated track day events. It is definitely my favourite circuit along with Mugello in Italy.

I would like to express my sincerest gratitude for the laundry bag. I appreciate the time, cost and effort that has gone into it, especially as I know that as a mother you would rarely get a minute of time to yourself. Thanks again, you have made my Friday night! I must share with you that tonight’s mail delivery was fairly extraordinary, as it was delivered to us at sea by an American helicopter (hooray for allies!). We normally don’t expect to receive mail until we pull alongside to a port.

Please thank your family on my behalf for the well wishes and kind words.

All the best and thanks again!

......


Dear Sandy, Jeanette, Chris and Kath,

I’m just writing a little note to thank you for the amazing quilt that you created for me. 
It brought tears to my eyes, both the words that you wrote and the 
absolutely stunning quilt itself. I wish I could truly explain how wonderful it 
feels to be the recipient of one of your quilts, knowing all of the effort 
and time that you all put into creating something special for me. 
I have already showed most of the Camp the quilt and can’t wait to be home 
and show all of my family.

I had grand plans of going into the textile and fabric markets and 
purchasing some fabrics to send back to you but with the coronavirus 
concerns I haven’t had the opportunity to go into town yet – hopefully I 
get the chance before I head home.

 I can’t even tell you the number of times I receive messages at work 
from my friends and colleagues saying ‘I received my quilt today, 
come have a look!’ Not to mention that we can celebrate the arrival of a 
quilt with some Tim-Tams and a cup of tea. My partner who is in the Army, 
deployed 3 years ago and he still keeps his quilt on the couch at home 
so it will be nice that we can now have matching ones when 
I get back to Australia. It was one of the first things he showed me when we 
started dating. I think for a lot of us, other than the memories, 
a beautiful quilt is all we have as a symbol of our time away.

Long story short, I and all of my friends and colleagues over here really 
appreciate everything you do. It is so lovely to know that
 through all of the hysteria of 2020 there are still people back home 
thinking about us. I hope you are all staying healthy and safe over there.

Regards, 
......


What great letters!  Until next time,

Sandy
...in Coffs Harbour