Happy Tuesday Friends!

Welcome to Summer!  I hope everyone is having fun with their gift shopping, work break-ups and catching up with loved ones.

I can’t wait to sew during the week and it not be dark outside!

Another great bunch of messages and photos from near and far,  so grab a cuppa or very cool beverage, sit back and relax while you soak up some well-deserved gratitude.

Only 15 sleeps until Christmas Day. 

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Hi Bev F,

 I am the proud owner of this incredible quilt you made me!
I wanted to email you and show my gratitude and sincere heartfelt appreciation towards what you have created me. It is amazing and something I am going to cherish for a very long time!

A very short spiel about me – I was born in 1991 and grew up on acreage in South East Queensland. As a child, I was fortunate enough to have a backyard where I could create whatever I wanted, but my true passion was football (soccer).
I played football up until I was forced to stop playing at the age of 23 (due to injuries), representing Australia in Indoor, Outdoor and in the Australian Defence Force.
I joined the military when I was 18 and started my career as an Aviation Technician. I did this for six years, working at 816SQN maintaining the now decommissioned S-70B-2 aircraft. In 2016, I changed my job role to what I am doing now – Physical Training Instructor.
I have conducted many postings and lived in every capital city in Australia, excluding Adelaide and Hobart. Within the military, I have deployed to South and North East Asia, throughout the Pacific and now, in the Middle East.
My hobbies include fitness, camping, 4wding and creating memories with my family.
My Fiance is also a Physical Training Instructor and together we have a 10month old son. Tomorrow, I fly to Norway to visit both of them as I haven’t seen them in four months! We will spend two weeks in Iceland sharing our first family overseas holiday together!!
Once again Bev, thank you so much for the quilt and from the bottom of my heart, thank you for what you do for the deployed men and women in our Australian Defence Force!
 

G’day Anne Hnr,

 

I just wanted to start by saying thank you very much for making my laundry bag. It is amazing and I definitely have a few jealous RAAFies in the office.

 

The odds of you being the one to craft the laundry bag are incredible, as I actually grew up only a minute or two up the road in South Hobart!

 

The TimTams were an absolute hit and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

 

Next year when you’re in Canberra for your annual Quilters weekend, I’d love to come to the dinner and thank everyone, your efforts very much appreciated by every ADF member who deploys.

 

Again, thank you so much for making our time away just that little bit better.

 

Kind Regards,

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Good afternoon Wendy ,

Thank you very much for my laundry bag it was even better than I could have imagined!.

I didn’t end up on a patrol boat I was assigned to HMAS Leeuwin (survey ship) for 2 and a half months instead.

Thank you so much for volunteering your precious time to making quilts and or laundry bags for service men and women of the ADF.

A little about myself:

I live in NSW and I am blessed with two incredible, beautiful children my son is 7 years old and my daughter is 5 years old whom I love and adore dearly they are the reason I serve and continue to serve.

I enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy in 2013 as a Boatswain’s Mate, I have been to over 27 countries and been to every capital city in Australia.

I deployed for 7 months to the Middle East on HMAS Melbourne where I was awarded the Australian Operational Service Medal Greater Middle East Region.

I was posted to HMAS Choules were I deployed on OP Bushfire Assist during the 2019 -2020 Bushfires were we evacuated the fire stricken town of Mallacoota the largest maritime evacuation in Australian history in a peacetime operation, this was one of my most proudest moments in my naval career helping people in their darkest hour.

For our actions and evacuating the town of Mallacoota we were awarded the National Emergency Medal with clasp BUSHFIRES 2019-20.

Recently I have been deployed for almost 6 months on OP Resolute Transit Security Element (TSE) 114. This is the governments initiative in keeping Australia’s 200 nautical miles around Australia safe for illegal fishing, illegal firearms, weapons, drugs, and unauthorised entry into Australia.

For our efforts in keeping Australia’s borders safe during our rotation we were awarded the Australian Operational Medal – Border Protection.

Even after 11 year’s service I am still proud to put my uniform on and serve my country.

I wish to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kindness and generosity, it warms my heart to know that there are still people out there that care about service men and women deployed domestically and overseas.

Kind Regards,

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Hi Gayle W, 

I just wanted to say a heartfelt thank you for the beautiful laundry bag and quilt. They are absolutely stunning and everything I could have asked for – and more!! The design also brought back such fun memories of making fairy circles when I was younger, and your personal touch and the memories you shared while making it make it even more special to me.

I will truly cherish this gift.  It’s comforting to know the care and creativity that went into making it, and hearing about the Aussie Quilts community warms my heart.  I’ve mentioned the organisation to my mum a few times and I can’t wait to show her these.

Your home and pets – especially the chickens – sound absolutely lovely and such a wonderful way to stay active while enjoying a peaceful environment in retirement!  And how exciting to have been approved to foster a dog.  I’m sure that in itself will be such a rewarding experience, giving a dogh in need a safe and loving environment.

Thank you again for your generosity and for creating something that will always remind me of my deployment, kindness and connection.

Best wishes 

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We recently send random laundry bags to the members of TSE 115 in Darwin.  These are a few of the thank you’s sent to Sonia J on they day they were received. 

Good morning Sonia J,

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Dear Hilary P,

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Dear Heather B,

 

I am writing to express my appreciation for the quilt that you created for me, but also for the lovely letter and kind words that accompanied it. The quilt itself is simply marvellous. I love the colour scheme that you selected, the design of the pictures and the personalisation you added. It already has pride of place in my bedroom being used as the top quilt on my bed. Unfortunately, I have been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease which means that my wife and I sleep apart because I need an adjustable hospital bed. While that is a bit sad, it does give me the opportunity to create a ‘man cave’ of a bedroom and your quilt fits the theme of the room perfectly. So thank you so much for the care you put into designing and creating the quilt, and for the time you spent putting it together. It is already very special to me.

 

I was presented the quilt last week by a previous Chief of Air Force (Leo Davies), and was lucky enough to have the current Chief of Air Force, my wife and a couple of close friends also attend the presentation. 

 

I would also like to thank you for everything you have done to support our serving personnel and to make them feel more appreciated and special. Over a hundred quilts is a very large number of personalised gifts for our serving members and demonstrates an extraordinary commitment by you to Aussie Heroes. I have no doubt that all of them appreciated your quilt in the same manner that I did, so you should feel extremely proud of how many people’s lives your quilts have touched. So thank you so much for expressing your thanks for my service, but I would like to reply to that by expressing my deepest appreciation for your devotion to the task and the care of our people. You make our people feel proud of their service by acknowledging their efforts.

 

Thank you again for the beautiful quilt and for everything you are doing to support service personnel.

 

Please let me know if I can support your efforts in any way.

 

Warmest Regards,

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Hello there Sonia J,

Thanks for you laundry bag.   I am just completing a short deployment and am excited to have my first Bag in over 35 years’ service in the ADF.   This is one of 80 bags distributed to this deployment.   Its great having a connection to another family who is associated with Defence.  Your bag has special meaning as I am posting to Wagga Wagga from Darwin.  Wagga is a regional town surrounded by farms.  One of our children plans to do agriculture in yr 11-12 whilst in Wagga. 

Thanks again and much appreciated.

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Hi Kristie H and Jan-Maree,
I was very excited to get the quilt and laundry bag. Made my day after getting off a ship whilst deployed on Transit Security Element (TSE) 114 based in Darwin.
I love them, they show a level of caring, thinking and creativity far beyond the short pictures and brief sent through.
The laundry bag drawing was given to me by my daughter to carry with my notebook ‘so I don’t forget about my family’. The hardest part of being deployed is missing my family. I have a Daughter who is 6, my Son who is 9 and my kind and understanding Wife. Having reminders of home whilst doing my day to day routine is wonderful. In the quiet times my thoughts drift to them.
The quilt center drawing is of the Heron ship from my favourite book series. The series is called Brotherband by the Australian author John Flanagan. It’s a bunch of misfits from a fictional place called Skandia, who form a Brotherband (with one Sister too), and patrol around including protecting their countries border. Good books, that my kids will read as they grow into their teens and into adults, and can thoroughly recommend them. The Brotherband members are all unique and special individuals, although no one is perfect. They remind me of my mates here on TSE/Op Resolute in defending our borders and the wider Army as a whole. Furthermore, the unique designs I have seen further reflects the Australian Military’s diversity. Whilst we all undertake standard training, the diversity makes us stronger as a team.
By making these it really helps each of us feel supported back at home. A huge thank you and wishing you all the best.
Cheers

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Good evening Sonia J,

 

This is just a quick note to say a big thanks for my Laundry Bag!

 

I’ve been very gratefully using your beautifully crafted bag whilst on deployment in HMAS Adelaide.

 

I have a quiet giggle everytime I see the frog faces! Thank you for a little bit of joy in the otherwise mundane task of laundry.

 

Yours Aye,

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Dear Jan-Maree,

I am emailing you to thank you and Deni G for the beautiful Aussie Hero Quilt I received from you.

I had not heard of this until I transferred to the ADF from the British Army. I noticed some Australian Soldiers that were attached to my unit in Iraq had quilts but thought they had bought them themselves. 

When I started at the Task Force during a morning tea our boss presented some quilts to members of the task force and during the presentation she explained all about the Hero Quilts and the fantastic work you and your group have done over the years.

I feel privileged to have received one of these quilts and I am amazed at the workmanship that has gone into making such a detailed and beautiful quilt which I will fondly treasure. The quilt is now in the living room proudly on display and I know will be a topic of conversation for years to come.

I would like to touch on my history, I joined the British Army in 1988 and completed 20 years’ service, deploying 9 times on war like operations (Iraq, Bosnia and Northern Ireland). I am Scottish and seeing the image of my home land on the quilt warmed my heart no end. 

I transferred to the ADF in 2006 moving my family here, my daughter is a Nurse working in Sydney and my son joined the Royal Australian Navy (I don’t hold that against him lol) He is a Petty Officer currently on the HMAS Sydney, my family have settle here and I know this was the best idea I’ve ever had as Australia is such a diverse and beautiful country to live in.

Could you please extend my gratitude to Deni for the outstanding work. Keep up the great work you and the group does as I know all recipients of the Hero Quilts really appreciate receiving them from you.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year.

Kind regards,

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Below (and the one directly above) are photos taken recently at a presentation for members working with the Royal Commission for Defence and Veterant Suicide Implementation Team

Quilt made by Sylvia B

Quilt made by Deirdre B-L

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