Happy Wednesday Friends!

One of the thank you’s in today’s blog gave me a good chuckle. The recipient has a way with words! See if you can work out which one!

We once again have a great lot of thank you’s from around the globe. Grab a cuppa, sit back and relax while you soak up some well-deserved gratitude!

AHQ Thank You Dinner is only 59 sleeps!

Don’t forget to buy your tickets.

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Hi Toni D,

Just wanted to reach out and say a huge thank you for my Laundry Bag. I absolutely love it. Thank you for all the time and effort that you put into it, it will be well loved. Thank you also for the sweets, will share with them with the team here.

It was lovely to read your letter, I hope your son is enjoying his time at RMC, and M is living her best life!

All the best,

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Good morning Colleen S,

I hope this email finds you well.

I wanted to write to let you know my laundry bag arrived today and I can’t thank you enough! Yes, my whole family are massive Star Wars fans and given that my son has the same initials as me and also a Star Wars fan – I can see there will be competition for the LB the moment I get home this evening 🙂

Either way, a lovely gift and it will get good use as I travel around in my job.

For info, we also have Burmese cats at home – Jedha and Naboo (both named by my son after Star Wars planets). In another coincidence, my first grandson just turned 1 as well 🙂

Can I also say thank you for all the Mental Health support you have provide to our veterans in hospitals and through Open Arms. As a chaplain I personally know the mental health challenges of all our veterans and there are not enough workers in the field to cover all the demand. Thank you for doing that for them.

If you are able to make the Aussie Hero Thank You Dinner this year in Canberra please look out for me, I will be in uniform (apparently we need to stand out) and I would love to meet you and thank you in person.

Every blessing for the coming months.

Kind regards,

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Hi Jan-Maree,

I would just like to take the time to thank you and your team for the very thoughtful Quilt that was made in honour of my service. I have now been in the Army for 38 years and plan to retire on my 40th anniversary which will be 30 Mar 2028. Please pass on my gratitude to your team that made such a beautiful and thoughtful quilt which I will treasure.

Warm Regards

Quilt was made by Bev U with embroidery by Joan B and quilted by Philomena H

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Hi Kirsten (Bindy) O,

I received my quilt you made today and I absolutely love it.

You did a great job in fulfilling my requests and making me a cherished quilt that I can remember my Invictus Games with pride.

Thanks for sharing a little bit about yourself and I feel like we have a lot in common and I’m surprised our paths have not crossed.

I also served a little over 27 years, and 16 of those was as a medic. I Corps transferred into Artillery when the changes came to closing RAPs and medics employment. Thank you for the role you filled in Defence Abuse, it takes some great humans to do this.

Wow architecture sounds incredible. Congrats on the Scout hall building, what a way to look at your hard work.

I did a 2 yr stint in Canberra and loved it at the time but the cold is something else. A lot of our Invictus team are planning to come to Canberra in Oct for Masters, I’m still undecided.

Thanks again for a beautiful quilt and I’d love to keep in contact.

Cheers

Quilt top by Kirsten O, Embroidery by Inge C, Quilted by Philomena H

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Dear Bridget R,

I have just received the quilt you made for me and it is perfect. Thank you greatly for putting such care into making it, the quilt turned out even better than I hoped. My son is only 1 and a half so he may not appreciate it as much as I do yet but it will be cherished in our family for years. Also thank you for the timtams they were delicious, I may have eaten them all too quickly.

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Dear Aussie Hero Quilts & Joy H,

I just wanted to express my heartfelt thanks for the incredible work you do. Your quilt was exactly how I envisioned. Your works brings so much comfort, colour, and care to those who receive them, and they’re a reminder of the thoughtfulness and generosity behind every stitch.

Your efforts truly make a difference and are deeply appreciated.

Warm regards,

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Dear Hilary P,

Thank you for your thoughtfulness in making the special bag for me. It was almost as if you knew me when I look at your choice of colours, design and images on the bag. I will cherish it for many years to come.

Wishing you safe travels on your trip.

Thanks again.

Kind regards,

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Hi Cath Hvy and Jan-Maree,

I have received my North Melbourne themed laundry bag and am very happy with it.

Thank you so much for making it!

It’s a great bag and the design is fantastic!

Thanks again,

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Hey Joan H,

I received my Dragons Laundry bag and wanted to say I love it and can’t wait to use it thanks heaps. The lollies were yum too didn’t last very long Thanks

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Dear Jenny R,

Firstly, I consider myself incredibly lucky to be the recipient of your lovely laundry bag. The beautiful sewing skills, poetry (Flanders Fields), symbology and imagery all act to remind me how privileged I am to serve this country. I assure you, your dedication to your craft and to this project is inspiring, as are the designs you’ve chosen to include. The photographs of brave heroes from our past are certain to provide adequate motivation.

Let’s face it, laundry is one of the toughest challenges in life that we must overcome. I can now execute my most tedious duties with the added swagger and pride your laundry bag offers. I look forward to showing it off both at home and overseas. It is currently accompanying me on the high seas (about half way) to New Zealand at the time of writing.

As you’ve most likely gathered, I am indeed an Army officer posted to a Navy vessel. Why? My platoon and I (with the use of small boats and landing craft) provide the ship with amphibious effects by connecting ship and shore. We do so by moving vehicles, personnel and cargo across a designated Beach Landing Site (BLS) via both watercraft and airframes where required. As I proudly represent land forces in this naval environment, I felt the need to prevent your Army orientated masterpiece from falling into the wrong hands. I quickly seized and captured your amazing work before Navy could exploit the opportunity. Your family history is rich with service and sacrifice, to which, I thank you all for paving the way forward so the current generation can follow and assume. I acknowledge the irony that your family is amphibious in nature with both Army and Navy represented. I’m glad I can continue on with this theme in my current role aboard HMAS Canberra.

Thank you again for your heart-warming effort. I’m flattered and proud that back home, us service members, have thoughtful and caring individuals like yourself who are prepared to conduct selfless work in support of our nations mission. It’s reassuring and softens the harsh and stressful nature of our job. Thus, I cherish your generous gift for that simple reason.

Sincerely,

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Good morning Bel P,

Apologies for taking so long to reply to your email and the lovely letter that you wrote to me, I have been away on leave.

First I would like to start off by saying that the laundry bag looks better than I could have imagined and I am glad that you have some Scottish on your side to make the experience more personal to you. Thank you for all of the work that you do it really means a lot of us that are serving and going away from family.

Warmest regards,

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Dear Bridget R,

Thank you for the absolutely beautiful quilt. You did an amazing job thank you. This would have to be one of the best gifts I have ever experienced. I had a beautiful day with my comrades and family.

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Dear Clarissa L,

Thank you for the lovely laundry bag. Your granddaughter has excellent taste in fabric, it’s awesome.

I grew up on a cattle farm north of Launceston TAS with two younger brothers. One lives in WA working in the mine as an engineer and the other lives in Newcastle working as an accountant.

I joined the Army in 2019 and studied at ADFA before graduating Duntroon as a Transport Officer.

I am currently posted to HMAS Choules and manage a team of Army soldiers and plan amphibious operations. I too am a keen (hopeless) snow skier and also enjoy playing AFL and golf. Thank you again for the awesome bag, it will go with me for the rest of my career.

Yours sincerely

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Dear Beverley F,

I am writing to thank you (and Aussie Hero Quilts) for making such an amazing quilt, you certainly have a talent for patchwork quilting and this will certainly become a cherished family heirloom. Thank you for providing an insight into your life; sounds like you are a proud matriarch of a loving family. Like your family, my family has a long history serving in the military, spanning across three generations in the Australian Army. Like your father, both my grandfathers served in WW2 in North Africa, Middle East & New Guinea. My father served as an Army Officer in a career nearly spanning 50 years. My younger brother and I are still serving.

I am currently half-way through an overseas deployment in the Middle East. Even though this is my fourth deployment, it has been an emotional one with the recent passing of my mother and my partner being pregnant. We will be expecting a baby girl in November. I requested this motif to reflect our love of Japanese food and culture & the sacrifices made by families when a family member is deployed – you embodied this greatly.

Thanks again and wishing you the very best for the future.

Kind regards,

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Dear Ruth S,

I just wanted to express my heartfelt thanks for the incredible work you do. Your laundry bag was exactly what I needed and your work brings so much comfort, colour, and care to those who receive them, and they’re a reminder of the thoughtfulness and generosity behind every stitch.

Your efforts truly make a difference and are deeply appreciated.

Warm regards,

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Did anyone guess the one that made me chuckle was for Jenny R?

Loved the part about laundry being a tough challenge. He is not wrong – it’s bad enough in your own home but trying to do it at sea especially on a ship like Canberra that is huge and has a lot of occupants! No thanks!!!

Until next week keep your letters, emails and photos coming in. Wednesdays would be so totally boring without them!

Cheers Bel P

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