Grati-Tuesday - 19th December 2023

 

Happy Tuesday Friends!

Here is another great collection of gratitude for us all. Please have your tissues ready for some!!!

Grab a cuppa, sit back and enjoy some well deserved gratitude!

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Good Evening Bridget R, 

I've been apart of the Australian Defence Force now for 7 years. I've served on 4 HMAS ships and done 3 deployments internationally and have spent 2 years in Canberra at Australia's Federation Guard where I was selected to travel to France to take part in ANZAC Day 2023 at Villers-Bretonneux. 

In my spare time I climb, run and have just taken up swimming. I have an awesome partner who is the coolest lady in the world right alongside the people at Aussie Hero Quilts who do this awesome work for our forces. Your simple gesture of a dhoby (laundry) bag will always remind me of the people at home like yourself that support our ships and establishments when deployed. 

From my heart

Thank you and keep up your awesome work and hobby. 

Regards 

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There is an amazing group of ladies that go out of their way to make our service people feel special; they are Aussie Hero Quilts. Today I was gifted this beautiful Quilt made by one of our own very talented ladies who served in the firms HR department, Kirsten O. 

Thank you so very much, it is absolutely perfect! It will be cherished forever.

...

Good afternoon, 

I am a 26-year-old soldier in the Royal Australian regiment. We are currently deployed overseas and before departing Australia we were gifted laundry bags and obviously I was gifted a laundry bag that you made, and for that I’m extremely grateful. 

It sounds like you live, a very very busy life and one of great service. I know that each and everyone of us received a laundry bag has cherished it on this deployment and will continue to cherish it when we return to Australia.

I hope that your family is well leading into this busy part of the year! 

Thanks again,

...

Hi Gayle W,

Thank you so much for the beautiful quilt, letter and lollies. It was such a lovely surprise to receive them. 

I love pink, sweet treats and baking, so whoever nominated me knows me well, plus fairybread is my favourite party food. I'm always the first parent to get any leftovers at kid's parties.

This quilt is stunning. I can't imagine the time and effort you put into it.

My 11 year old son has the quilt regularly and he is going through a pink phase, so loves it. My almost 8 year old daughter loves it too.

Kind regards, 

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Good Morning Barbara D,

I am writing to thank you for the gift of your time, effort and materials in creating my Aussie Heroes quilt and laundry bag. I must admit, this week has been difficult to get through and although it was

delayed by the post, I was extremely grateful and appreciative that these items arrived when they did. It was an absolute pleasure to open such an extraordinary package, and I was uplifted by the

vibrant colours and patterns. 

Your descriptions actually remind me of my Aunty, who loves to sew and has used this pattern/method numerous times; so thank you for triggering those wonderful memories. It was amazing to read through your journey in putting the quilt together while holding it in my hands here.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I was very happy to see Trixie's signature on your letter! My doggo is so important to me, and I miss her terribly (although I know she is getting very well looked after by my sister at the moment), so seeing your pup's stamp made me smile.

Thank you again for all you effort, and continued support to those serving overseas. Please know it is much appreciated, and these items are treasured and kept by ADF members their whole life.

Kind regards,

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G’day Kirsten O,

 

I am an Australian Army Officer deployed on OP Lilia in the Solomon Islands. I received a quilt and laundry bag from yourself through the Aussie Heroes program and would like to say my sincerest thanks. 

I am set to return back home to NQLD soon, and sent the quilt back to my wife and two kids, who have been loving it. I was incredibly impressed by the quality, and love the design. I am set to head back south next year, and it will be perfect for the winter months. I really appreciate your time and effort, it was a lovely surprise to receive when it arrived.

 

I thank you so much for your time and effort, and hope you have an excellent Christmas and New Year’s. I loved my time in Canberra, and always found Christmas to be quite nice in the ACT with the ice rink, and the decorations put up in the centre. All my best for the rest of the year.

 

Kinds Regards,

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Hi Jo H,

 

I'm the very lucky recipient of an amazing quilt that you made earlier this year. 

 

Thank you so very much for making such a beautiful quilt. It means so much to me. I do not have anything that signifies my service and this quilt now holds a special place in my heart. My two daughters also absolutely love it. They are only just old enough to understand that their Mumma is in the Army. 

 

Thank you for completing such a special and selfless role for our veterans community. Please also thank Kath, Di and Dorothy. You have all done and amazing job. 

 

I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

 

Regards

...

Here is a snippet of a thank you phone call for a quilt that Rhonda S made.

 

"The recipient rang me and thanked me for making his quilt. He was very emotional and said he had never received anything like it before and the impact on him was profound! He kept asking how he could ever thank me? I told him gently that it was my absolute pleasure to make the quilt for our very worthy veterans and serving personnel,  and that was thanks enough."

These quilts have a profound impact upon the recipients that they cannot find the words to explain!

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Hi Philomena,

 

Thank you so much for my wonderful quilt. I just received it today and already have it draped over my shoulders now in my cold office!

 

I love the design you’ve created and love all the hidden details (like the turtles in the stitching!). It’s beautiful and when I opened it in the office, everyone has commented how beautiful and amazing it is.

Turtles have a very special meaning between me and my wife. Unfortunately we lost our son when my wife was 22 weeks pregnant. All before we knew we were having a boy, we called him Squirtle (which is a turtle based Pokemon).

Just before the 20 week scan to tell us our son had some development difficulties and most likely wouldn’t make it to term, I was snorkelling in Guam whilst on deployment and I had a turtle come right up to me before swimming away. We associate turtles to Rory and now I have another turtle thing that reminds me of him day to day and I see it like Rory will come to sea with me. So honestly, thank you so so much.

 

We live in Sydney with our two dogs, a border collie x kelpie named Emi that my wife has had since she was a puppy before we met, and a rescue pup (we think he’s a staffy x Labrador) named Wombat that we adopted in 2018.

 

Again, thank you so much for taking the time to create a beautiful work of art I will cherish for years to come! I’ve included a photo below proudly displaying it.

Have a wonderful Christmas and holiday season!

 

Kind regards

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Jan-Maree

 

I would like to send a thank you to you and the members of Aussie Hero Quilts on behalf of myself and my soldiers from Charlie Company 7 RAR who were recently deployed on RCB 141 in Malaysia.

 

Specifically, I would like to thank Mrs Robyn T for the wonderful laundry bag which I personally chose.

 

The wonderful work of your team was so appreciated that during our final dinner, one of my soldiers suggested we raise money for AHQ, and I believe that the Chaplain in Malaysia managed to donate around $240 on our behalf last month to help you continue to support to Aussie soldiers. 

Thank you again - you and your team bring a little bit of joy and home to our long stints away and it is so appreciated.

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Hi Toni D,

Thank you so much for the AMAZING laundry bag and your lovely letter! To open the beautiful wrapping and first thing I see is pink embroidery with my name and PMKeyS  was so special. The fabrics are perfect - I love it so much and it will make my cabins, bunks, tents (and sometimes when we are lucky bedrooms) feel a little more like home for years to come. 

I specialised into Public Affairs which sees me travel a lot telling the stories of our serving men and women. I have travelled from places like Palau and Fiji to Bangladesh and Laos to the US and the UK in a range of tents, ships and aircraft over the last two years and this super colourful laundry bag will make finding my washing in the pile of white laundry bags much easier for the trips to come! 

My family has a 13 year old black toy poodle who isn’t quite the “farm dog” she used to be running around on my parents farm but she hasn’t stopped being adorable. 

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas! I am looking forward to heading home to sunny QLD too to see my family! 

I know how much hard work goes into each laundry bag - my unit is so grateful for the thought and love put into each piece by you and the rest of the team at AHQ. I am so so thankful to be a recipient - I can’t quite believe it! The bag will certainly make me smile for a long time to come :)

Thank you again, 

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Hi Ruth S,

Just a quick email to say thank you so much for the beautiful laundry bag you made for me and the note that you sent with it.

I absolutely love how personal the laundry bag is and it will not only get plenty of use while I’m away but then it will also be kept as a keepsake once my time in the Navy is done (not anytime soon I don’t think!)

I very much appreciate all the time and effort you put in to personalising the bag for me.

It will be well loved for many many years to come and my kids have already mentioned they would like to have it one day.

Thanks again

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Until next week keep your letters, emails and photos coming in.  

Tuesday's would be so totally boring without them!

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