G’day Ellen, 

 

You recently sent me a quilt, I absolutely love it! Thank you so much. My daughter also very much loves her little bear that came with mummys quilt.

 

I am one of the warfare officer’s onboard a ship. What that means is basically I am in charge of a team that operates all the weapons and sensors we have around the ship. I joined Canberra in January this year and will likely be here for 2 years. I have been in the Navy 12 years, and have definitely had my fair share of deployments to both amazing and not-so-amazing places around the world. Highlight would probably be centenary of ANZAC celebrations in Greece/Turkey, lowlight might have to be freezing my arse off searching for MH370 as far south as Antarctica. Its crazy how much of a mystery that turned out to be.

 

I have a husband who is also in the Navy and a 4yr old daughter. Since my daughter was born its mostly been daddy going away for work every now and then. This year the tides have turned and Im now the one going away while dads at home running the show. Definitely a challenging change in duties but so far so good.

 

We recently returned from assisting Tonga in recovering and rebuilding from the Volcanic eruption and subsequent tsunami in Jan this year. While the trip was only short (6wks) it was an enormous effort from all areas of the ship and I have to say it was one of those rare trips where I felt super motivated from being able to see the direct impact of our help on the population. However don’t get me wrong, I was wrecked from working 18hr days every day for 6 weeks non stop!

 

Where are you now on your caravan adventures? My family took my sister and I on lots of roadtrips around Australia as a kid, something I think every Aussie should do at some point in their life.

 

Thank you again so much for the quilt, it now sits on my bed on the ship ready for our next deployment in a couple of weeks.

 

Regards 

….

Hi Karen.C,

Thank you for the very kind gift of the laundry bag, it came in very handy over in the Netherlands.

I apologise for the delay in sending this thank you email but unfortunately I returned from the Games with Covid and I am only just recovering now.

Invictus was a wonderful experience and I enjoyed being able to compete and I was lucky enough to be on the Bronze medal team for Wheelchair Rugby.

Again thank you for your kind words and the lovely laundry bag.

….

Good Morning Lyn,

Thank you very much for the Quilt, you have hit the request perfectly.  I have shown some of the Sailors onboard and they are extremely jealous

And have offered to take it ‘off my hands’.  I’ve declined the offer.  I think you’ve done a terrific job.

I am the Command Warrant Officer of HMAS Canberra and I have spent some time in Tasmania as a young man…predominantly in Launceston.

We have quite a few Tasmanians onboard and we get requests all the time for visits to anywhere in Tassie. We are hoping to get down there later in

the year.  I’ve been in the Navy for 27 years and I reside in Sydney with my wife and two kids/adults ( daughter 17) and (Son 19).  I think when I finally

leave the ship that my daughter may attempt to take the quilt from me.

Our team has recently finished helping Tonga after the devastating underwater volcanic eruption. We spent quite some time in the tiny islands

providing them with the life-saving equipment needed to keep going.  It was very valuable work and the people of Tonga were very appreciative. The crew always

likes to help out those in need.

Our next trip begins shortly and we will be away for a few months, so your quilts and laundry bags will be a reminder of home.  We have a very young crew,

and I’m like the ‘old man of the sea’ looking after them.  But I can honestly say, we should be proud of the young men and women that join these days, they are resilient, intelligent and empathic.  So, there are some good signs for the future of Australia, we just don’t hear about it too much.

Thank you again for your wonderful quilt, we will be organising a photo of all of the quilts and laundry bags together on our flight deck once we leave and send it to the quilting team.

I hope you and your husband are well and enjoying retirement in beautiful North West Tassie.

Kind Regards.

….

Good Afternoon Ellen, 

 

Just reaching out to express my deepest thanks for the quilt and laundry bag you made for me. I absolutely love it! The pockets are a fantastic touch and ive never seen anything quite like it. I’m extremely grateful.

 

I thought I’d share a bit about my life so you have a bit of an idea about who you’ve sewn the quilt for. I live in Cronulla with my girlfriend, we have a pet bredli python called San. We love the ocean so it’s a fantastic spot for us. We love diving, surfing, skateboarding, camping, gardening and going on hikes. So it sounds like your family and mine’s interests’ kind of align. I’m an avid football fan: Chelsea is my favourite club and I turn 26 very soon. 

 

I’ve been in the navy for four years. I’ve been very fortunate during my time to do a lot of really interesting, challenging, rewarding things. Most recently my unit and I deployed to Tonga to assist in the clean-up and rebuild of their nation after the volcano eruption earlier in the year. It was the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. I’ve lived in most states in the country during my time and I love my job. 

 

Thank you again for your selfless kindness in making the quilt and laundry bag for me. It adds a little bit of character to my living space onboard and will come in handy when I deploy again later this year. 

 

Warmest regards.

….

Good Afternoon Marilyn.S,

I am writing to thank you for my laundry bag that I recently received from you, I absolutely love it, it really made me smile to see both Pikachu and the Port Adelaide colours!

A little bit about me: I am a Navy brat who spent most of my childhood living in QLD but I now like to call TAS home. I joined the Navy as a Communications and Information Systems Sailor in 2003, and served mainly on Survey Motor Launches and Armidale Patrol Boats out of Cairns and Darwin. In May 2018 I transferred to the active Navy reserves for 2.5 years and moved to Tasmania. In Oct 2020 I transferred back to the permanent Navy force, and I am currently serving on HMAS Canberra which is based out of Sydney. I have a 21 year old son who is currently living in our home down in Tassie. I have just returned to work after a 3 week holiday at home with my son and immediate family for the first time in 12 months, which was fantastic!

I hope that you and your family have been able to spend more time together since most of the COVID restrictions have been lifted, I can only imagine how busy it would be when you all get together!

Thank you for your kindness and generosity to our ADF members, we all appreciate the time and effort that goes into making the laundry bags and quilts.

….

Dear Margaret,

I am very touched by your kindness and generosity of the Aussie Heroes. There is nothing more meaningful than supporting our service men and women in times of need. 

Over the weekend my wife with our beautiful 1 year and 2months son came to visit me. I showed them the laundry bag and we read your letter together. It was a very emotional time for us, and we felt close to you and your family.

My wife and I want to thank you for the effort and love you put in making the laundry bag. It is something we are very proud of and will stay in our family for years to remember. 

Over the period of the Chaplain’s course, I had the pleasure of meeting Chaplain Rick. He is such a great man with so much experience. 

I am originally from Syria; I came to Australian in 2008 as a Syrian Catholic Priest. During my 9 years of priest services, I visited many areas, and I had the pleasure to stop in Yass a couple of times. 5 Years ago, I quit my job as a priest and got married to my beautiful wife. In 2021, I found out about the MSWO role and this how I ended up in the Navy. 

I keep you and your family in my prayers.

….

Hello Toni.F,

It is so lovely to meet you! Thank you so much for my washing bag. I ADORE it!! I think the colour choice is perfect to remind me of my time in PNG and I especially love the Army emblem and my initials. When I was told I would be receiving a washing bag I became terribly excited! As a bit of background I am a nurse, and joined in 2019. I had just finished my degree in Perth and was moved to Canberra to work for 2 years in the emergency department to develop my skills as a junior nurse. During 2020 I then went to do my 6 weeks of officer training at the Royal Military College Duntroon. For this I was given a packing list which included a washing bag. At this time I had essentially nothing to do with the Army for my day to day job so I was not aware that a plain washing bag was something that I was able to get issued from the clothing store. I ended up sewing my own calico washing bag which, as it turned out, was exactly the same as the issued one that everyone else seemed to bring. However mine pales in comparison to your beautiful creation, and I am so proud to be able to use it now and in the future.

I learnt to sew in high school and have loved it ever since, it is a hobby that I do not get to spend much time doing any more and I hope to spend more time doing it this year. Who knows, in the future I also might join AH and begin making quilts and laundry bags. I would love to learn!

I really enjoyed reading your letter and it made it feel so personal. I hope you are doing well post the pandemic lockdowns, and may your fabric cupboard never be empty! I hope your garden is going okay after all of the rain that the eastern coast has had in the last few months. I wish you all the best for the future and everyone who receives a creation from you is so incredibly lucky!

Have a lovely week!