Grati -Tuesday 20th April 2021

                                                                             HELLO!!!

Hope you all had an amazing weekend. The weather is really putting on a great show for the last few warmer weeks before winter starts to creep in. 

The colder weather gives us an opportunity to snuggle up under a wonderful handmaid quilt and read heartfelt letters of gratitude from recipients of recently, and in one case, not so recently dispatched quilts and laundry bags.

Sit back, grab a cuppa and take some time to read through this amazing collection of letters.

Hope you enjoy.....

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Hi Jan-Maree,

Thanks again for the generous offer of laundry bags for our members. We have received most of them now and I wanted to quickly thank you and send you a picture of us with the finished products.

I hope you are well and look forward to the next opportunity for quilts and laundry bags.

Regards,

....

Angela,

Thank you for the quilt. I’ve always enjoyed medieval styles and stories. The rooms here are quite plain, and your quilt brings colour to the room, which makes a big positive difference. I’ll be torn when I go home about keeping the quilt for a son one day or gifting it to a nephew. It's brightening my day here and may turn into a family heirloom.

It’s a goal of mine to have bush out the back of the house. I spent a lot of time in my early 20’s hiking in NSW and QLD and it’s the best part of the country.

I think taking life a bit slower with nature, animals and some travel is the right way to live. I am encouraged for what I can look forward to later and am reminded to take life slower when I get home.

Thank you for reaching out and the splendid gift. 

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Dear Ruth

I just wanted to send a short email to say thank you.

I have received the laundry bag that you made and am absolutely over the moon!

The unicorn-themed laundry bag has a lot of meaning for me.   My six year old daughter loves unicorns immensely (as we all should!).  This laundry bag provides a connection to her that I was struggling with since my deployment.  To tell you that this means the world to me is an under-statement, and has brought a lot of joy to my daughter and I despite the considerable separation. 

Thank you for what you do - it is special and it is appreciated. 

Best Regards

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Hello. 

The quilt arrived yesterday. It's awesome. He absolutely loved it.  Thanks so much for all you do for our soldiers.

Thanks

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Hi Veronica,

I received my quilt and am so impressed with it. Thank you so much for all the work you guys do it is so appreciated and everyone loves getting and showing off their quilts.

All the best

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Hi Ellen,

Thank you for my fantastic quilt.

I have attached a pic of me in the back of the Herc.

This has been my 3rd deployment to the Middle East. The 1st for 7mths, second for 4mths and now for 4mths.

All of my deployments have been extremely rewarding and the mateship and bond you make with the people you are with is incredible.

I come from a military family, My Grandfather, Father ,Mother and Brother have all served in the Airforce. I have another brother who was in the Army and a son who was in the Navy. My Father in law was also in the Airforce. 

I joined when I was 17 as an Instrument fitter and now an Avionics Technician, currently a Flight Sergeant and have just clocked over 34yrs service and still looking forward to many more.

I am based in NSW working on the C-130J Hercules but am hoping to be posted back to QLD next year to be closer to family.

Thank you so much for the design of my quilt, my wife and I both love rescuing and rehabilitating wildlife.(our house looks like a zoo at times)

All three of my deployments have also come with personal milestones 1 month before my 1st deployment my wife and I were married and during the last two, our first and second grandchildren were born.

 I love the travelling you guys are doing now. It is something my wife and I are looking forward to in years to come. Our Kids have grown and spread wide and far they are in separate parts of QLD, NSW and SA, so we will be doing a bit of travelling for visits.

Again thank you so much for what you and all the people at Hero Quilts do. Please know that it is really an amazing feeling when our people receive them and everyone loves to show them off when they get them.

All the best

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Good morning.

I wanted to thank you for the lovely gift of the laundry bag that you recently made for me. I am a LTCOL Orthopaedic Surgeon in the Australian Army. I am currently serving in the Middle East, though thankfully we are nearing the end of our rotation, so will be back home soon, all going well. My mother was a textiles teacher, and so I have a little knowledge of sewing that has rubbed off - the quality and workmanship of the bag is first rate, and I know it will serve me well on  many more trips to come, so thank you. Having that little piece of Australia turn up was a big morale boost.

I am married with 4 young children, 3 boys and a girl - 14,12, 10 and 8. We have a small farm out in regional NSW, where we raise alpacas and highland cattle. We have 2 naughty dogs, one cheeky cat, geese, guinea fowl and far too many chickens. I have planted an orchard of about 100 mixed fruit trees, and this year was a good crop I am told (always is when I am not there to mess it up!). I did my orthopaedic training in the city, but completed medicine in a regional area and was sent to the country for my first few years, and now cannot imagine living anywhere else.

Thank you for your service with Aussie Hero Quilts - I can not put into words what it means to be in a place like this and to receive a gift from someone at home, someone you have not even met, who went out of their way to thank you for serving. We all serve for different reasons, and whether it is in uniform or in a support role such as yours, it is no less vital. Without those behind us keeping up morale and helping us remember why we serve, it would be difficult to stay sane in a place like this - thank you.

I pray that you and your family will receive all the Lord's richest blessings, now and in the future. God bless.

Kindest regards,

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G’day Heather,

I just received your quilt, mate, thank you very very much. I love it. It’s definitely something I will cherish for the rest of my life and it really made my week.

Again, thank you very much

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Dear Cath,

Thank you for the wonderful quilt. It truly made my day so much better! I can’t even imagine how long this would have taken you to complete but it is truly a work of art. Your skills in design and creation is truly second to none.

Currently I’m located in the Middle East. I deal with mainly the administrative and financial side of things here but normally stick my head in other things such as mail and Ops since I want to keep myself busy. 

I’m currently posted and live in NSW. I grew up in Vic and I can clearly see why Sydney and Melbourne have such a tense rivalry. I can honestly say, Melbourne is a better city.

Before I was posted to NSW, I was posted in the NT. That was my first posting upon completion of recruit training. I was there for 3 ½ years and it was a huge eye opener for me, as I’ve till then never went interstate. So, moving from Vic to the NT was a big culture shock for me. From wearing nice clothes to suit the weather and atmosphere to wearing shorts and a shirt with thongs daily was a huge shock. Also, the people in the NT have a very casual vibe about them. There is no rush to get anywhere or do anything compared to people in Vic. 

My Dad and Mum did quite a bit of sewing. At the family home, they have 2 sewing machines and they did sew clothes for me when I was younger. Now I just ask my parent to help me adjust some items of clothing.

I actually did Food Technology when I was in high school and did it every year. My teacher during my later years in high school was a chef at one of those fancy restaurants and he would often take us out to these restaurants to inspire us when we cook our recipes. It was because of him that I now enjoy cooking, mainly baking. Back home, I would bake cookies, pretzels, cakes and Apple Strudel for the pers within the Company HQ and get feedback to see where I can improve on. So far, I need to work on my pretzels. I think I need a bigger kitchen to make them, otherwise I’m only limited to making small sized ones. But that is one of the things, I’m keen to back to when I get home. I tried to keep the news that I bake on the down low here but one of the girls here mentioned it and now everyone within the Task Element wants me to bake stuff for them. Which I don’t mind doing, but now I have such a larger audience to please.

The quilts that you make and the team at Aussie Hero Quilts definitely bring a smile to everyone here. Whenever someone gets a quilt, they show everyone the piece of art that was handmade for them and they cherish it dearly. It gets to the point where members here get really excited when they receive mail, and it has “Aussie Hero Quilts” written on it. It almost feels like Christmas for them, and their younger self comes out.

Once again, thank you very much for the quilt. It will definitely keep me warm and brings home that much closer. Like you mentioned, I now own something that is so unique there is only one of its kind.

Kindest Regards,

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G’day Sonia,

I was lucky enough to receive the lovely laundry bag that you made, and I am absolutely thrilled to receive this as this is my first one!

I love the Pattern you have selected and I will be sure to hold onto this throughout my career! To give you a little insight I am currently on Op Covid Assist, however I am posted to HMAS Adelaide. I come from  NSW and have been in the Navy for 3 years and currently assigned to my 2nd operation but 1st time getting a laundry bag so from the bottom of my heart I wanted to say thank you so much for taking the time and money to make this for me, I will as I said before treasure this for the rest of my career.

Thank you

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Good afternoon,

I just received a laundry bag from you this morning and I must say I was absolutely delighted. I love the colours and the cute little dogs and just loved receiving something from a complete stranger. It is such a nice gesture and very much appreciated. It will be well used over the next 4 months for my first big posting at sea. Thank you so much. 

Kind regards

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Hello,

I am writing to express my sheer gratitude for the gift of the beautiful Aussie Hero Quilt.  It was such a lovely surprise to be presented with such a thoughtful, poignant  gift - which I will treasure always. 

Very sadly I lost my husband in November - a very sudden and unexpressed loss. As you would imagine it has left me heartbroken to lose the love of my life after 35 years of marriage. 

The love and support both my daughter and I have received at this sad time has been amazing -  I have been absolutely blown away by the support from the Australian Defence force - it has just been incredible.  My husband served in the British Army for 23 years prior to transferring to the ADF.  The poppy is a symbol well known to me and I wear one with pride every Anzac Day as well as Armistice Day in November. Having such a beautiful handcrafted and personally embroidered quilt will be a lovely reminder that my husband was both a proud member of the Defence force and likewise now others are acknowledging their pride for his service to country.  Thank you.

I would like to thank each and everyone of your volunteer group from the bottom of my heart.  I enjoyed so much reading of the history of how this great incentive came to be.  I am totally in awe at the unique art that has so lovingly been crafted into this quilt by the many volunteers.  A very loving gesture which has warmed my heart and given me a great sense of pride.  Thank you all so very much the quilt, it will be loved and passed down through to my Grandchildren and hopefully their Grandchildren with the amazing story that goes with it.

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Hello,

I am writing to say thank you to yourself and everyone involved in the making of my quilt I received whilst on deployment.

I have served in the Australian Army for over 24 years and have been on multiple deployments. I am currently 5 months into this trip and will be home very soon to my family.

Again, thank you so much and please let all involved know that I am extremely happy with my quilt, once I get home, this quilt will be proudly displayed in my bar.

Many Thanks.

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Hi Sue,

Thank you very much for the quilt. It's exactly what I was after.

 I am 21 years old and live with my partner in NSW.

 We also have one very spoilt kitty!

 Thanks again

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Good morning Sonia,

I am writing to thank you for your amazing laundry bag. Being away from friends and family can be incredibly tough and your kindness has meant the world to me at sea!

So thank you very much! It’s a reminder that the sacrifices we are all making are appreciated

Cheers

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Dear Sir / Ma'am,

I was sitting under a hero quilt that I received originally in 2012, on one of tours in the Middle East. I ended up doing 5 in all.

I just wanted to say thank you. I've had the quilt now for many years, as well a Laundry bag and they are both doing well.

I thought I might just write and say that quilt is still well taken care of. 

Kind Regards,

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This last letter of appreciation really proves that our quilts truly are something that will be treasured for a very long time and will bring comfort to those who receive them. 

Thank you.

Till next week,

Happy Sewing Everyone!!!