Weekly Dispatch 24th March 2023

Hello Friday!!!

Another massive week of Amazing Quilts, Laundry Bags and Stay Mats being sent off to our ADF pers and dogs!!

I think we can all agree, a great display of quilts and laundry bags, yet again from our amazing volunteers....

Please enjoy!!!

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This week we dispatched 25 Quilts which takes our yearly total to 210 and our grand total to 15,389!!

We dispatched 64 Laundry Bags which takes our yearly total to 328 and our grand total is 33,064!!

We also dispatched 3 Stay Mats which takes our grand total to 25!

Hilary.T

Hilary.T

Hilary.T

Hilary.T

Hilary.T

Hilary.T

Marilyn S

Marilyn S

Hilary.T

Angela T

Bev and Geoff

Bev L quilt top, Philomena quilted and Inge embroidery

Bev R

Bindy O, quilted by Philomena and embroidery by Joan

Bobbie S with blocks from her Mystery BOMers, quilted by Alison C and embroidery by Joan

Bobbie S with blocks from her Mystery BOMers, quilted by Alison and embroidery by Joan

Bobbie S with blocks from her Mystery BOMers, quilted by Philomena and embroidery by Joan

Bridget R

Bridget R

Carolyn M

Cheryl F

Colleen S

Heather B

Illawarra Quilters, embroidery by Joan

Illawarra Quilters, embroidery by Joan

Illawarra Quilters, embroidery by Joan

Jan-Maree

Quilted by Alison C and embroidered by Joan

Pennie T

Ruth B

Sonia J

Sonia J

Sonia J

Sue N

Sue N

Barbara D

Barbara D

Bridget R and embroideries by Joan B

Bridget R and embroideries by Joan B

Cath H and embroideries by Keryn

Cath H and embroideries by Keryn

Cathie J

Janis K

Jenni S

Joy H

Keryn M

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Save the date!!! 21 October 2023

Greetings all,

Plans are afoot for this year's Thank You Weekend and I can't share everything with you yet but I can tell you the date.

Lock in 21 October 2023!! 

That is the weekend you want to be in Canberra if you volunteer for Aussie Heroes or if you are a recipient of one of our quilts or laundry bags. 

We will have a tour planned for Friday afternoon. Exciting plans are afoot but we cannot say anything yet. We will have our Friday night function as usual but this year it will be held at ADFA.

We will be staying at The Rex again.  We have another accommodation deal, much the same as last year.  We will have a special booking code, email me if you want to know what it is.

The code will entitle you to 10% off the best available rate. 

Guests can make the booking by emailing to Reservations@canberrarexhotel.com.au or groups@canberrarexhotel.com.au or they can also call the Rex on 0262485311. Please be advised, the best available rates are dynamic in nature and does fluctuate depending on how occupancy shifts. In other words, if  book a King room today, it may not be the same rate for someone else if they book tomorrow.

We will have a newbies breakfast at The Rex again so that new volunteers can meet each other as well as meeting me (Jan-Maree) and other admin volunteers, depending on who is available.  We are also planning another bus tour on the Saturday after Breakfast.  This will include quilt shops and lunch and other locations but we are still locking the itinerary in. 

The event of the weekend will be the Dinner on Saturday night. We will be back at The Rex again with auctions and a raffle.  I already have one fabulous Auction Item that I will share in a separate post and we have some wonderful items coming for the Raffle as well. 

As always, the weekend will culminate with breakfast at Poppy's on the Sunday morning, a last chance to swap numbers, emails and the like before everyone leaves Canberra and heads off home. 

Tickets will be available shortly, I just need to do some maths (and get someone to check my calculations) to make sure we set the correct price. Just like last year, there will be one price for the volunteers and a slightly higher price for non-volunteers. A volunteers spouse is considered a volunteer for the purpose of ticket prices. We know that in many cases, the partners are also enablers, making it possible for our volunteers to keep sewing.

I think that is all for now.. make sure you put the weekend of 20-22 October in your calendar so you are able to attend the dinner. I will let you know as soon as tickets go on sale, it will not be long. 

Cheers for now

Jan-Maree xx

 

Grati-Tuesday 21st March 2023

 

Happy Tuesday Friends!

I hope you are having an awesome week so far!

Have quite a few thank you's and photos with recipients showing off their quilts and LBs this week.

So grab a cuppa, sit back, relax and savour these beautiful messages! 

...

Hi Pennie T,

I would like to say a massive thank you for the quilt and laundry bag. I love it and so did my wife.

...

Morning Team 

   On Monday 13th March l had the honour and great pleasure to present an Aussie Hero Quilt to a member with 20 +year of service.

  She lives in Orange NSW where I was visiting. We met at the local Ex Services Club and had a lovely meeting over coffee. Her parents were also present.

  She wanted her quilt to represent her life in Orange, raising children and her Service. Keryn M did the service embroideries and her sons names. Keryn M also quilted it in a beautiful gumleaf pattern. The recipient was delighted  "Its  beyond anything l could have imagined". Her mum is also a quilter so there was discussion over blocks and techniques. 

The block of Mt Conobolus with the sun setting behind it and the Way Point Star ( to point her way home ) were much admired. She also has chickens and a beehive at her house and were mentioned in the request.

  We also discussed her career and her role currently. I shared how requests are allocated and showed them a current list. They were interested and surprised by the number and diversity of the requests.

  The recipient and her family are very appreciative of what AHQ's does and how they help. She was thrilled with her quilt and asked me to thank Keryn M for wonderful contribution.

   A very pleasant hour was spent with the recipient and her parents. A wonderful time and a great experience to meet a recipient and present a quilt personally.

   Cheers Carolyn M

L-R The recipient and Carolyn M

...

G’Day Greg,

Thank you, my quilt arrived yesterday and it is fantastic, it will certainly take pride of place in our household.

Please pass on my thanks to the quilter (Colleen S with embroideries by Joan B), a superb job.

Regards, 

Quilt & Laundry bag by Colleen S, embroideries by Joan B.

...

“Please indulge me as I share the story behind these items. Late last year, Peter H invited me to an event (thank you, again) where he introduced me to David Ball. As David and I got to know each other, we shared our experiences in Defence and the space community. We talked about deployments and work trips, good times and bad. I recounted my time in Taji, Iraq and being recalled to Al Minhad, UAE to help raise a new unit within JTF 633.

 

Out of the blue, David asked me, “Did you get a quilt?” The question took me straight back to the offer of personalised blankets the Task Group had received from a charity called Aussie Hero Quilts. As I told David, I did indeed request one, but it never found me once I was redeployed in-theatre. “I’ll put you in touch with my wife, Jan-Maree,” he said, who just so happened to be the founder of the charity.  

 

A few weeks later, the phone rang. It was Jan-Maree. We spoke quickly and purposefully about my service history and interests, the #ANZUS camaraderie I had enjoyed in Taji and finished with a commitment that she would be back in touch in the New Year.

 

And so, last month I returned home from another work trip to find a parcel containing this extraordinary quilt and ‘interstellar’ laundry bag. Also special were the letters from their makers, Jenny N and Philomena H, and Lynn F. It was deeply moving to read of their appreciation for my service and the shared passion for their cause. 

 

Thank you, Jan-Maree Ball OAM. These are keepsakes for life and I am grateful beyond measure!”

Quilt by Lynn F with embroideries by Philomena H - Laundry bag by Jenny N

...

Hi there. 

My stunning quilt arrived today. I am so very grateful. 

I will send out a thank you to the lovely lady (Lyn R) that made it for me. 

Thank you so much. 

...

Hello, 

Thank you very much for the laundry bag, its amazing. 

Please thank everyone involved. 

Thanks again, 

Laundry bag by Ruth S

...

Hi Janis K,

 

Sorry for the delay in contacting you, I just wanted to say thank you for my quilt.

It has been well used during my deployments. Thank you for the letter and the kind words.

 

Kind Regards,

...

G’day Keryn M

I am just writing to let you know that I have recently returned from some time overseas and have received your quilt you sent me as a part of AHQ! Unfortunately, we were having some small mail issues and couldn’t guarantee it would be sent over in time, hence why we had it sent back to me place in Vic!

I’ve just finished 6 months in Africa and it’s now great to be back! Thank you so much for the quilt that you sent through, I can see how much effort goes into these and want to say that I really appreciate it! It will be a great, simple reminder of my time spent away to carry with me moving forward. Thank you for your work with AHQ, it is greatly appreciated by all of us who are lucky enough to receive one! It is always a great reminder of the special things we have at home and goes a long way in keeping our heads high whilst away from home.

Wishing you all of the best for the gardening projects ahead and once again, thank you very, very much for the wonderful quilt you sent me! I’ll make sure it’s very well placed in the house for years to come!

...

“Morning Jan-Maree, 

I just wanted to send some photos through of a recipient with the quilt and laundry bag that was kindly made for her by your volunteers for over 20 years of service.

She absolutely loved it and was speechless when we presented it to her. 

 

I have said it before and will continue to say it you have made an amazing organisation, which means so much to those who receive these quilts and laundry bags.

Thank you”

L-R - Quilt made by Helen C and quilted by Bridget R  - Laundry bag was made by Bridget R with embroidery by Inge C.

...

Thank you for making me this quilt and laundry bag! I appreciate it a whole lot and I’ll be happily using it in the following months at sea. 

Kind Regards, 

I wonder if the postage bags on the other tables are also AHQ quilts? LOL

...

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

Tuesday's would be so totally boring without them!

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