Friend of the Day - Guess Who!

Okey Dokey!  I have had a number of people ask me when I am going to do a Friend of the Day  Post on myself!  Hmmm, guess I can't get out of it forever.  

So, here goes!

Who are you and where do you live? 

I am Jan-Maree (as if you didn't know!)

I am a Perth girl, born and bred but live in the Hills District of Sydney.  We have been here since 2002ish, having returned to Australia from nearly three years in the States for my husband's work.  It is a great area to live, close enough to get to the city for shows etc but far enough away to have some space and greenery around us.   Our house backs on to 40 hectares of National Park and we are often visited by Kookaburras, blue wrens and possums.

Tell us a bit about you – family, occupation, other hobbies.

I live with my husband, David, who is an ex-RAAF engineer. We also live with our two sons who are 16 years old....

and with two of the world's most gorgeous and definitely most spoilt dogs - 

Snickers 

 and my little shadow, Maisy.

 Occupation?  I am a fulltime homemaker but that is such a boring title so for years I have called myself a Domestic Artiste - has a much nicer ring to it don't you think?  Of course I also run AHQ.

I don't really have time for other hobbies these days - LOL.  Luckily, my favourite hobby is sewing.  Nothing is more rewarding to me than making a quilt for someone, especially when you can personalise it.  I love to find out what people are passionate about and make a quilt that encompasses that for them.  The best compliment I have had from one wife when she saw the quilt I made for her husband is "Oh my gosh, that is him in a quilt!"  Love it.

I do also love catching up with my close friends,   three girls whose daughters were at school with my boys.  

We call ourselves the "Sisterhood" and love getting together for a meal either in one of our homes (we always over cater) or at a restaurant.

How far to the local shops and how far to the nearest quilt shop?

"Not far enough" my husband would say!

I live in the suburbs so I have a plethora of shops to choose from in general but for fabric?  I am ten minutes from the local shopping centre where there is a Lincraft and about 20 minutes from a Spotlight.  Truth be known I don't go to either of those much.  I have chronic arthritis on both knees, I actually have no cartilidge left in either knee so I can't walk far or stand for long.  Both shops can be difficult  with too much time spent standing in queues or trying to find stuff and then standing in queues.  So, I mostly go to Craft Depot.    Sadly this is not a very atmospheric shop - fairly sterile and always the same.  On the good side it usually has a good selection in the $5 per meter bin  - great for backings and laundry bags and then another good section of $9.95 per meter.  Unfortunately they don't support us at all but maybe they will get on board this year.

Favourite local quilt shop

My favourite quilt shop is not exactly "local" being about an hour away with no traffic.  It is Penrith Patchwork.  Now, they do support us big time and it is also a lovely store with really lovely staff and owners.

Favourite online fabric shop

My favourite online shop is equilter.com probably out of habit more than anything.

I have been shopping with them for ages and they are very reliable.  I don't buy much from them (who am I kidding!) but they are really good for special fabrics for example tartan for a quilt backing for someone who has Scottish heritage.  Some of my recent purchases were some great novelty fabrics for less than $4 a meter for laundry bags.

Where you got your last fabric bargain (and what it was)

These are my latest bargains for some fun laundry bags - 

Under $5

 Under $4

 Under $3

Whether you machine or hand sew binding?

Oh I machine bind all the way as arthritis in my hands means no hand sewing!

How long have you been sewing for AHQ?

Longer than anyone else -LOL  honestly who wrote these questions  - oh right!  ME!

Do you have any connection to the services?

(Why do you sew for AHQ)

Ummm, yeah!  I joined the RAAF at the tender age of 19.  My folks had just left Australia for a three month trip of a lifetime. They called home from Hong Kong to find out that their baby had applied to join either the RAAF or the RAN.  My Mum told me later she consoled herself by thinking I would not be accepted!  Thanks MUM! 

This is me on my Officer Training Course - I was the only female on a course of 21!

 Eventually I graduated as an officer and made it through Air Traffic Control School - this is me at the RAAF Control Tower in Richmond NSW.  Memories! - check out that perm!!!  And that teeny tiny little stripe on my shoulder!  I was a Pilot Officer - better known as a Boggy!

After 7 years I transfered to the Navy and these Chief Petty Officers and Petty Officers were my colleagues  at the Training Development Section at HMAS CERBERUS.  What a bunch they were!  How I wish I knew where they were now!  These guys are one of the reasons I started Aussie Heroes.  That fellow holding the sign was a gorgeous single bloke with no family.  Who would have sent parcels to him had he deployed?  This photo must have been taken around 20 years ago!

What are some of the things you have sewn for AHQ

I obviously see all the requests for AHQ and so I get to choose which ones I want to do but generally I make quilts for those that I develop a kind of friendship with. Some quilts I collaborate with Caroline but the following are some I have done alone. 

 This fellow asked for a quilt to hang in the Headquarters of the Special Ops Task Group so I sent this over but I also sent one for him to keep.  When he came back to Sydney he came and met me which is a rare privilege for me.  He also spoke to my son and his friend about joining the Army and the fact that he went to Boarding School was what made my son investigate the Boarding School he now attends.

Most of you will have seen Belvedere's quilt - he is the mascot for the FSU

 and this quilt was made for the fellow that requested Belvedere's quilt.

I was asked to make a quilt in RAEME colours.  This was the front. The flag was a perfect starting point but then I was told that this guy worked with tools and as I had just bought some cool black and grey tool fabric on special I had to use that on the back.

Guess he liked the back too!

I try really hard to make the quilts for the chaplain in Dubai and lately the chaplain on ANZAC as I liaise with them a fair bit.  These are four of them.

Actually, I love all the quilts that I have made as each one has been made for someone specific and they are in my thoughts as I sew.  I may never meet most of them but I think of them as friends.  There is usually a story behind most of my quilts but I can't share them till they have been received.

That is enough about me - you are probably snoring by now.  Wake up!  It is time to go back to your machine or whatever you need to do.

Some of you will be receiving emails from Naomi in the future. She is going to take over editing the Friend of the Day posts for me each week so she may come looking for contributors.  If you are interesting in volunteering to write a post please let me know.  We would love to know more about you.

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

Sewing Day Efforts

Last week several lovely Aussie Hero Friends came to my home for a sewing/working day.  Boy!  Did we get a lot achieved.  Terry spent most of the day cutting up a roll of batting that we had been given.  It was 90cm wide so we had to piece it no matter what we did to make the batting wide enough and long enough.  Terry cut all day...

And Jan, a newcomer to Aussie Heroes pieced all day.  By the end of the day the batting was all cut and pieced and we had a bunch ready to use.   We also paired up backings, some of which needed piecing, with some of the quilt tops that have been sent to me.  Now there are sets of tops, backings and battings ready to go to a quilter when the opportunity arises.

Dasha, who brought Jan along with her, also pieced batting and then she started working on a quilt top from Blocks of the Month from November.  Dasha ended up taking that quilt top home to finish and last report it was pinned ready for quilting the next day!  

Gail, on the left, and Lisa on the right spent most of the day trimming blocks.  Lisa is a new recruit, in fact I had only met Lisa the day before at a friends New Year's Day party.  I had been sitting sewing (as you do) when my friend Carol, another Aussie Hero Friend, called me and said you have to come over here and meet Lisa - she wants to know about AHQ!  

Once the blocks were trimmed Caroline arranged them on the design wall into groups for quilts and now there are a bunch of those ready to be sewn together.   I will probably take those along to the next Penrith Sewing Day on the 13th of January.

What a great day. We worked hard but we had fun and we achieved so much!   We are planning to do it again with those of us who can make it (and who are game) on the 21st of January.  Anyone else in Sydney who is interested in coming you are more than welcome so please just let me know.

Thanks so much Ladies!!!

We received some more great thank you messages over the weekend!

For Rita M

I have received my quilt and laundry bag, have been quite busy and had little time to formulate a response in thanks to my generous donor. If you could pass on my thanks greatly, as it will be a great keepsake which I can pass onto my daughter on my return. A big thanks from me and the rest of our contingent for the time and effort yourself and the ladies take to bring a small and sometimes big reminder that there are people who are generous enough to give their time to bring some comfort to the guys and gals over here, whilst being away from family, loved ones and friends. From me it is greatly appreciated and keep up the good work. 

Caz

I have been away for a bit.  I did get my quilt and I LOVE it.  I am trying to organise a photo so I can add it to your website.   I can't thank-you enough, it brightens the room so much

Hello Dasha, 

I got your package last week and wanted to say thank you for the laundry bag and the other stuff you put in there. I am grateful that you took the time to make it for me and I will hang onto it for a long time.

This is my first deployment to Afghanistan, It has been ok so far but is getting very cold now and will be below 0 degrees soon. 

Rita C

I have received my quilt and it is absolutely lovely. Thankyou very much for the work you do-it is much appreciated over here! 

I received my quilt a month ago. I have been incredibly rushed of my feet.  My apologies for not getting back to you promptly. Thank you so much. It means a lot that that little touch of extra warmth I get at night comes from the support of fellow Australians

Dear Ruth,

Thank you so much for the quilt and laundry bag, I must admit that I had a tear in my eye when I opened it up and seen just how much effort had gone into making them.

I have already put them both to good use and once again wanted to say thank you so much for taking the time to do so  for me.

I trust that you and your family had a happy and safe Xmas and that the new year will be all that you want it to be.

Thank you and God bless.

One for Caz

Hello,

I received your quilt :)

Its amazing and something ill definitely cherish during my Navy career.

This quilt will be taken with me from ship to ship and deployment to deployment.

I will take a pic of me with it and try to send it to you, i may have a tad trouble but i will get it done.  Thanks so much for it and for my laundry bag....

They're simply outstanding,

 for you to do something so nice for someone you've never met means even more.

Thank you again, 

I have a bunch of people who are happy to receive boxes of laundry bags to hand out.  This is wonderful as it means that we can send some to those that might not feel they should ask or those that just don't have the time or facility to send an email.  Recently I checked with this gentleman to see if he was still happy to be receiving the boxes and here is his reply.

Hi Jan-Maree

Xmas and new year greetings to you and your team as well.  The laundry bags arrived and were literally snapped up in about 20 seconds.  I had the CSM (Company Sergeant Major) explain all about the Hero Quilts again as well.  Yes, still happy to receive laundry bags, they are a very desirable item especially as they are individually recognizable in an organisation that can sometimes be a bit clonish.  The guys and girls love them and I know they are literally being used every day in Afghanistan where temperatures have recently reached -15 overnight.  

Just one thing I guess, if you can let your workers know that there is really no need to send goodies in the packs (lollies, museli bars, coffee etc) as throughout the Middle East Area of Operations the troops are well supplied with care packages (we just received 78 palletts of goodwill packs).  Don't get me wrong the items are well received but you and your workers are spending your own cash when there are other avenues for the guys to receive this type of benefit.  Actually, I think they appreciate the letters sent by the makers of the quilts more than anything as they then realise someone they have never met has taken the time and effort to not only make a lovely quilt but to tell them a bit about their background as well.

I will get a photo taken for your website as soon as I can with all of the items you have sent.

Thanks again for the great work it is really appreciated.

As he said, the extras that we include are very well received.  I think what he wants to get across to you is that the quilts and laundry bags are enough and the letters are a real bonus.  So feel free to include treats etc if you want to, but do not feel obligated or guilty if you don't, especially at this time of year.  It also depends on where you are sending to.  I don't want to say on the blog to send to this area or that as that requires me to identify the locations associated with the different AFPOs and I have never done that.  But, if you really want advice on whether to include the treats or not just email me.  

Penrith Sewing Day

The next Penrith Sewing Day is on next Sunday the 13th.  There is only so much space available so if you are interested please email me for details and to let me know that you are coming.  I have loads of blocks so we will be putting quilt tops together.

That is it for tonight.  The blog is back to normal posts as from tonight so I will be back again tomorrow night but for now - I am off to SEW!!

Till next time.......................keep spreading the word and happy stitching.

Quilts of the Week 4 January

Hi All.  Welcome to the first Quilts of the Week post for 2013!!!
11 quilts and 31 laundry bags for 2013 and 
957 quilts and 1410 laundry bags overall!

Please note - I cannot take any more requests for personnel leaving Afganistan in March - it is getting too close to get quilts off to them as mail is too unreliable.

Now, on with the Quilts of the Week. Bearing in mind that this is still only the 4th of January and lots of people are still on holidays, and I shared some quilts on Monday night to finish off 2012, I think we have done pretty well this week.

 Lesley

Liz

Robyn and Sue and quilted by Chris

Belinda - I just had to show you a close up of the quilting!  This is Belinda's first Aussie Hero Quilt.

Julie Ann

 Julie Ann

Kaye

Kylie

 Kylie

 Kylie

 Nancy

Great job everyone!

The thank you messages are rolling in as all the quilts we sent for Christmas have arrived.   Please do not be disheartened if you do not receive a thank you message - lots of the guys have been extremely busy, long hours, little time off and often limited internet and email access - particularly the more junior guys and girls.   Just take it from me that all our quilts and laundry bags are being appreciated.  One of the reasons for sharing the thank you messages on the blog is to show how much our things are treasured, even if not everyone who receives one can send a message or a photo.

 For Fran and Rick from JN

My quilt and bag arrived on Christmas eve. Let me say WOW. They are absolutely fantastic. I was blown away by the effort put into it especially seeing my beloved dogs on it. I waited till Christmas day to open it. I have it hanging pride of place on my wall next to my Aussie flag as its too nice to use on my bed. I can't thank you enough for arranging it for me. What you and your quilters do is just fantastic, it is really nice to know that there are people out there that care for us enough to donate their time and money and brighten our time away from our loved ones.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and new year.

Thanks again from an proud Australian Airman.

Hi Rita (C) and Yang Family,

I'd just like to say thanks for the quilt and I appreciate the time and effort you put into it, I never knew a quilt could have such a story, I'm very impressed. I'd also like to thank you for your well wishes and I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and have a happy New Years.

All of us serving here in Afghanistan appreciate the support you give us, especially during this time of the year when we'd like to be home with our family and friends.

Once again thank you very much and we all appreciate your support.

Good Afternoon Rita (C)

I just wanted to send you a quick email to say thank you very much for the beautiful quilt, photo frame and all the other lovely goodies I have received from you. 

They were a wonderful surprise and I have put the photo frame to good use with a nice photo of my younger brother and sisters. The quilt is keeping me warm of a night and the colours have definitely brightened up my room. I really appreciate the time and effort that was put into these gifts.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and I wish a safe and happy New Year.

Regards,

Hello John and Rita (C),

Thank you very much for your kind gift, the hand made quilt. You will be happy to know that I have already made good use of it by adding it to my bedding on one of the particularly cold nights we have here.

Whilst the Camp I am in does have some constructed accommodation it does still get a bit cold. On this particular night we were at minus 3, but I think there is more to come as we head into Winter. I am in XXXXXXX which is a bit warmer than the other bases :)

Well, thanks again for the kind gift and lovely sentiments, we all feel very proud of the work we are doing and are heartened by the support and generosity of people such as yourselves. The quilt was a great gift and the quality is superb, I'm sure I will have it for many years to come and it will be one of the great reminders I have of my time in Afghanistan.

Keep up the great work and have a fantastic X-mas and New Year.

All the best 

The following are for Liz B

Hi Liz 

I would like to thank you so very much (and Jan-Maree of Aussie Hero Quilts) for my single bed quilt and matching laundry bag.  These items are very popular and well prized among us over here in Afghanistan (particularly since its now winter and I have to say its pretty cold during the day and most evenings)

Might I just add that I think my quilt is far far nicer than the others !!!!  I really appreciate your kind words and sentiments.

Trust this email finds you well and rested after the Christmas and New Year celebrations. 

Kind regards and best wishes.

Hello Liz and Rob,

Thank you so much for your quilt, it is fantastic. It came today in the mail run. Just in time for New Years. I can see the time it must have taken to create. Its really cold where I am at the moment and an extra quilt in my swag is a fantastic addition. Its been getting down to around -5 to -10 overnight.

I love the personalised laundry bag. It means now I don't have to play the game of trying to pick my white laundry bag out amoung the hundreds in the laundry. Thank you as i was never that good at that game.

It really means allot to me that there are people out there willing to put in this amount of effort for someone they do not know. Please pass on my thanks to everyone involved in getting me this package. It really has made my day. I will hold onto this quilt long after this deployment is over and one day hopefully pass it onto one of my own children.

Happy New Year and God bless you

G'day Leonie and AHQ,

        Thanks for the laundry bag. It's come in handy as I have been using plastic bags to put my washing in, which tend to split quite regularly! The Dinosaur pattern is quite apt, as I am a bit of an old dinosaur myself.  Thanks again,

One for Lesley who made the quilt and Karen B who made the Laundry Bag

Thank you so much for my quilt and personalised laundry bag. It really means a lot to myself and all of the men and women serving over here that receive them.

Its great to see that good old fashioned morals and support from home are not dead in certain parts of the community.

Thank you once again!

Kind regards, 

For Jill

Thank you to your friend (that would be Jill)  that made me the quilt.  it made my day I love it :) thank you so much :)

Another great week and a good start to the year.  I have a load of new requests on my list so if you want to make a quilt for someone specific please just let me know.  If you are new to Aussie Heroes and would like to be on my Volunteer List please let me know.  You can email me your contact details at friendsofAHQ@gmail.com

And a final reminder - if you would like to take part in the Aussie Hero 2012 Challenge Block please email Caroline for her details - she needs a stamped self addressed envelope.  The blocks that are coming in are fabulous - and this is going to be one special quilt!

Caroline's email address is carolinejgunn@gmail.com

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

January's BOM

So, a New Year and a new round of Blocks of the Month!  First up for this year is the Disappearing Nine Patch.  In February last year we started the Block of the Month program with a Nine Patch so it seems fitting that the fist block for this year take it up a notch.

We are going to be doing a big nine patch.  You need to start with three or more different colours. Feel free to use as many different colours as you like.  I have just used three colours but I intend to add these blocks to other blocks made with three colours and I want to end up with a nautically themed quilt for someone on HMAS TOOWOOMBA.

But before we get there we have to make the blocks.  So, cut yourself some 6 1/2 inch strips 

or you can go straight to cutting 6 1/2 inch squares depending on the fabric you have to work with.

Next make your nine patch.  Now, I save the prints with the bigger patters for the corners.  Smaller prints or plains go in the other spaces.  If you can't remember or down know how to stitch a nine patch you can review here

 Once you have made your massive nine patch you need to cut it in quarters like so.  If you are not confident enough to do this then you can send them to me to cut them but it really isn't hard so you should have a go.

Here the blocks have been cut and re-arranged.  there are loads of different ways to arrange your blocks and if you want to see some more options just go here

Here are two that were prepared earlier.  The first by Caroline and I and the second a joint effort but mostly by Lyn.

The following two were not made for Aussie Heroes but the first is an example of just three colours 

and the second is totally scrappy.

So you can see there are lots of options for this pattern.   If you have a look at the first two you will see that they each used ten nine patch blocks - ten cut into 4 equals 40 blocks - and in each quilt they are arranged 5 across and 8 down.  this yields a quilt that is just about the right size.  Oh, and one final thing - After I have quartered the blocks I trim each block to nine inches just to make it that much easier to put the blocks together.

That is about it other than to tell you to please post the blocks to me

Aussie Heroes

PO Box 248

Cherrybrook,  NSW,  2126

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