Happy Tuesday Friends!

Hope you are having a good day so far! It is about to get a bit better. Sit back, relax and enjoy the collection of gratitude letters that have been compiled below.

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Good Morning Beverley R,

This is just a quick note to thank you for the fantastic Quilt that you took time to make for me. It is greatly appreciated and has certainly brightened up my cabin for the next deployment. I have served in the Navy now for 30 years and have served on several ships. I am nearing retirement where I intend to travel Australia with my wife of 26 years and then hopefully, if my three children give us grandchildren we will enjoy helping with them. We live in a small town on the South Coast of NSW. My eldest son finishes Uni as a Primary School teacher at the end of this year. My Daughter joined the Navy 18 months ago. My third child, he is 15 and in High School. I have a Massive yard that keeps me busy when I am home and keeps my wife even busier when I am away. It is worth the pain because it is like an oasis. Again, I thank you for the Quilt, it is sensational. We, as military people always try to be the best parents we can be and with our wives at home, we rely on them so much to keep the family unit united and strong. We could not do what we do without you guys at home. The women in our lives are our rock and for that I thank you also for keeping your husband home lights burning during his many deployments. I hope this email finds you well and you continue to enjoy your retirement and all the things that come with that. Stay safe and keep well, your work and well wishes are greatly appreciated Regards

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Dear Pennie T,

I’m writing to you to express my sincerest gratitude for the wonderful gift you have given me. I’m over the moon to say the very least. This quilt and laundry bag are truly the best I could have dreamed of. Yes, I’m a tragic Parramatta Eels supporter as I grew up in the Western Suburbs of Sydney, played my junior rugby league days with them and then played group-level representative rugby league with them in my 14s, 15s and 16s. My poor wife, sadly has to tolerate my passion for my club but she does so like a real trooper. My dedication to the club is so chronic that I’ve already bought us tickets to see my club flog the Melbourne Storm the week after I return to Australia in March so I’m getting really excited. Actually, My last posting was in, Victoria just before I deployed last August. My wife and I also had the pleasure of playing golf at Thaxted Park Golf Course on a fair few occasions as well. Here’s a picture of what my quarters look like over here. Yes, you really have added some truly wonderful colours to my otherwise-dreary living space. My role here in Headquarters Middle East places me responsible for managing all aspects of the Safety and Security of ADF personnel deployed on operations within this region. You’re probably asking how someone who rides fast motorcycles could possibly ever be in charge of keeping people safe and secure!! My wife and I are only track riders with our race bikes so that makes it all OK, doesn’t it? Well, we don’t suffer many issues in racing so I would suppose that provides evidence that I’m proficient at risk mitigation at least.

So this is my fourth deployment on operations, the third trip to the Middle East region with 29 years of service under my belt, I’m fortunate to be passing on my lessons and experiences to all the junior personnel who, in most cases, are on their very first deployment. The one thing I always pass onto them is how much it really does mean to receive support from our fellow Australians at home. This support truly make a massive difference in helping ease our younger people through the barriers of hardship, discomfort and loneliness on military operations and it gives them a boosted focus on returning home safe. As for us older, ‘more wise’ types, experience does make you accept life on operations a little easier each time, but the pain of separation from the people and the land that we love so much never eases a single bit, no matter how many times we’ve been deployed. This quilt is such a beautifully crafted and personally significant thing to me and I am hugely grateful for what you have done, Pennie. In fact, I slept so well last night that it was almost weird. I’m not a good sleeper at all, even when it is quiet, so this first night of uninterrupted sleep meant so much to me, and I thank you for helping me out. I can’t express enough gratitude for what you’ve done. I certainly won’t ever forget this. Best wishes

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Dear Bev F,

I recently received a laundry/dhobi bag from you. I am onboard HMAS Parramatta. Thank you very much, it is fantastic and much appreciated. It’s a lot more sturdy than the standard ones we can get and looks way better. It stands out so I can find it easily when a lot of us share the same space.

My pop served and was a POW in WW2 and was sent to the Burma railway I believe. My uncle was a Warrant officer in the army also.

During the pandemic it has been difficult, but I hope to be able to travel more soon.

I am 30, and have been in the Navy for approximately 3 years. I am relatively new to it all and am learning a lot all of the time. There is a huge range of different people I work with but I am sure everyone who receives these quilts, laundry bags and packages are very appreciative, so I wanted to send a quick thank you email.

Thank you.

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Dear Sue S,

Well, what a really lovely surprise. Thank you so much for my quilt.

It was actually a very special friend who ordered this as a surprise for me and also for our other two gorgeous friends. We all joined the army together in 1989 and our friendship grows stronger each year even though we haven’t been able to catch up for awhile due to covid (we all live in different states and try to catch up once a year).

I left the army and did humanitarian work overseas for a couple of Years and now I work from the covid command centre in WA.

Thank you again. I will treasure this and really feel that it was made with love.

All the best for 2022.

Best Regards

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Dear Ellen N,

Firstly, I would like to say a big thank you for the time and effort that you put into making my quilt. I most certainly did arrive safely. The quilts and laundry bags that get made for us serving members certainly put a smile on our faces. We are all very grateful and appreciative for the effort that many people around Aus do for us.

I’m serving in the Royal Australian Navy, I have been serving for just over 5 years. I’m currently posted up in the Northern Territory, I’m from South Australia. Back home I have my mum, dad, older brother and his daughter (my niece).

I have a boarder collie/kelpie dog back home which I miss so much, her name is Pippa. It was very interesting reading about your family members who have previously served.

I hope you are safe and well. Once again thank you for the time and effort you put into my quilt. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Many Thanks

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Hello Wendy,

Wow, I love my quilt and thank you so much for the time and effort, it is indeed a unique design and is very Chic and even the underside looks great. All the quilts made are a source of great interest for the crew and they are perfect for the tropics. I am a Chef on board HMAS Anzac and we have just returned from 14 weeks contactless visit (no getting of the ship) of south east Asia lots of fun and action up there. I ride a Harley roadster and just love it cause it is very sporty and oozes character I myself have owned many bikes and also ride a Guzzi. Also I am trying to restore an Indian Scout 741 but find it very difficult with the Bike and family in Queensland while I live in Western Australia. Oh the struggle of bike ownership Ha ha. Northern NSW is a beautiful place having been there on holiday as a child so you are lucky Wendy. Once again thank you so very much I will indeed treasure my quilt you and the ladies do a first class job and knowing the fabric is totally unique makes me feel very special indeed.

Kind regards Exotic quilt owner

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To everyone at AHQ,

Thank you all for the wonderful laundry bag that was definitely put to good use and made my laundry day so hassle free!

Best wishes

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Hello Karen,

I wanted to say hello and thank you for the wonderful laundry bag you made me and I feel quite special being the first recipient of your work.

The fact you have been able to rediscover a love of sewing is fantastic.

Once again, thank you for the laundry bag, it will be put to good use.

Regards,

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Hey Heather B,

I was just writing to you to thank you for the laundry bag I received the other day, they are a lot nicer than my issued laundry bag. I have been in the army for 3 years now as an infantry soldier. I have been in Asia for 4 months now. I am coming down to my last few weeks here and I am DEFINITELY ready to come home to Australia.

I was really into swimming before I joined the army, training 10 times a week at one stage in my life, I competed in a couple of open water events although my main focus was on surf life saving, I raced for the local surf club. Along with surf life saving I also competed in the pool with my favourite event being 100m and 200m butterfly. Since joining the army I have had barely any time to swim so my swimming has got a lot worse haha.

Anyway I was just writing to thank you for laundry bag (Only Christmas present) and the nice message.

Cheers

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Hello Chris,Thank you so much the awesome bag I appreciate it so much.

I’ll introduce myself, I’m 19, I live in QLD and based there, my nationality is Thai and Italian.

Ive been away from my family for 4 months on this trip, but throughout my training to get where I am I’ve spent round 11 months away from my family.

Before the army I played a lot of sport and still do, my favourite sports to play is rugby league and oztag, I played second row and winger. I support the Rabbitohs and obviously the blues.

Thank you again for the bag and appreciate it so much.

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Dear Kathleen,

I received the quilt this week in the mail. It was particularly exciting to receive it because we have not had a mail delivery for 2 weeks!

The design is awesome! Thank you for your talent and hard work on putting it together. The choices a re a mix of my favourite animal (Elephant), favourite hobby (Abseiling/rock climbing) and favourite musical instrument (Trumpet). The quilt is already brightening up my room in the barracks where I am deployed to. I’ve shown it to my family back in Australia and they also think it looks great and will remind me of all my favourite things while I am deployed.

We are locked down on the barracks and I have not been able to leave the base at all for the last 4 months. We may get an opportunity very soon to travel off base soon.

I came from a large family. I have 6 brothers who all work in various fields from plumbing to computers. One of them also keeps bees as a hobby.

Thank you once again for the quilt, it will lift my morale for the rest of my deployment until I m home again.

Kind Regards…

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Dear Jacqui,

I hope this letter finds you well. I was thrilled to receive my quilt and laundry bag. I know it probably was a very unique request and apologies if it was challenging. You did a great job and really went beyond my expectations. All the girls i’m deployed with love it too. HaHa.

A little bit about me, I’ve been in the Army for almost 13 years and have spent most of my time between Qld and NSW. I’m currently on my 3rd deployment to the Middle East. I’m thinking this will be my last. I’m yet to have a family of my own which is important to me, Army life can hinder those plans somewhat and I’m not getting any younger. When I leave I will move to my home state of Tasmania which is where my family is. I recently purchased some land there. It has beautiful views of green rolling dairy hills. I’m very lucky. I’ll be building my first home there which is daunting but also exciting.

Thank you again for the quilt, after all my deployments I finally got one and it will be a treasured keepsake for a long time.

All the best….

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Till Next week…..