Part 14 of the Tales of the Travelling 15th Anniversary Laundry Bags.

Hey folks, 

I am thankfully just about over the dreaded lurgy that has slowed me down for the last three weeks. Seriously! Don't the germs know I have way too much to do and can't waste time getting sick.  Anyway, hopefully better late than never.  This here is the 14th Part of the Tales of the Travelling 15th Anniversary Laundry Bag. 

Enjoy these posts. 

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"In 2020 when the world was in the first throes of Covid-19, I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. When members based in AMAB found out about my diagnosis some of them worked together to make a very special quilt for me. That quilt now hangs in my home, draped over a ladder in my living room where I can see it and enjoy it every day. Not a day goes passed that it does not make me smile. Just as our recipients get a thrill when their quilts arrive in the mail, my heart was warmed when this special quilt arrived, all the way from Al Minhan Air Base, representing hours of work and effort just for me.

Last week, one of the members who worked on the quilt dropped by our booth at the Craft and Quilt Fair to say hello.  She was able to show photos of the quilt under construction to the volunteers there on the day. Also on her phone was a photo of the lovely quilt she received whilst deployed. She also took the time to have a pic taken with our 15^th Anniversary Laundry Bag and I am hoping that she will be able attend our Anniversary Dinner in Canberra on October 17^th.

#Aussieheroquilts #AusAirForce #AusArmy #AusNavy #15yearsofcaringforourADF

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I have a few posts to catch up on from the Craft and Quilt Fair last week. I had serious FOMO as I was down with the lurgy so had to delegate attendance to some of our wonderful volunteers. They had the pleasure of meeting Karen, from Babylock Australia and Hobbs Batting. Karen has generously supported us for a few years now, donating batting (essential ingredient for a quilt) plus threads and more for our Auction and Raffle prizes for the annual dinner, not to mention donating goodies to go into our Volunteers' Goodie bags for our Thank You Weekend. When companies like this donate to our volunteers and our fund raising effort it helps us to keep doign what we do, it reinforces that the generosity of our volunteers is appreciated and it also tells our ADF members that more of the community supports them. All of that matters!

Thank you Karen!

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I am so late catching up on the last of the 15^th Anniversary photos from the Craft and Quilt Fair that Aussie Hero Quilts was at two weeks ago.  The lurgy that stopped me attending is also the one that has slowed me down.

The first photo today is Shane.  Shane is the fellow we call when our Simply 16 Quilting machine breaks down. This machine is a wonder and without it we would not be able to do many of the quilts that are sent out from our Headquarters. As robust as the machine is, occasionally the amount of work we put through it wears it out and it needs a little TLC.  Shane reckons we probably have one of the hardest working Simply 16 machines in Australia and that is where Shane comes in. He always, always looks after us because he knows how critical this machine is and we are so grateful for his support.

Next we have Pamela. She popped over to tell us that her son received a quilt when he was part of Border Force in 2024.  She sent him a message to tell him she has said hello to the ladies and he came back with “That’s super cool. I hope you told them its been on my bed since”.  A perfect example of why I love telling the Aussie Hero Quilts story and meeting our recipients and their families.

Photo three is Caroline, she was one of our very earliest volunteers, and the first one to come and sew with me.  Her life has taken her in difference directions now but she always makes sure to come and say hello.

The three lovely ladies are from The Sewing Basket.  This is a wonderful charity that sells donated fabrics, patterns, patchwork, embroidery materials, knitting and crochet yarn, haberdashery, and more while providing employment for people with disability.  When fabric is donated to us that we cannot use, we pass it straight on to The Sewing Basket. In return they often pass on fabrics that we can use. Mutual support makes us both stronger.

Vicki’s son-in-law also received a quilt and she came up to say hello.  

 Jo is a 25 year veteran and if you look closely at the photo, Jo is wearing her medals from the Invictus Games.  Way to go Jo! 

Last but not least is Michelle, a relatively new volunteer who popped in to say hello, another reason why I am disappointed that I was not there to say hello in person.

These pics are a great cross section of our volunteers, supporters, and recipients and their families and really great examples of why we do what we do.

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

Jan-Maree xx