Happy Wednesday Friends!

There are, as always, some beautiful sentiments in the following gratitude letters.

Grab a cuppa, sit back and relax while you soak up some well-deserved gratitude!

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Hi AHQ Team,

This afternoon I had the pleasure of presenting an Aussie Hero Quilt. After greeting formalities and learning a bit about his service background, I revealed his own personalised Aussie Hero Quilt. Apparently he had never been in a position to request a quilt whilst deployed, so with retirement looming shortly, it was an opportune time to have one made to recognise his service.

His response when seeing his quilt was “this is awesome!” . I was pleased to hear that, and with rod pocket ready to go, it will take pride and place in his “den” in his new home, shifting in 3 weeks. What perfect timing!

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G’Day Robyn P,

I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate the quilt you sent me. It’s fabulous thank you. You certainly have a busy life so really special to receive a gift where you spent your precious time on me. The detail and craftsmanship are exceptional – the sentiment – humbling

I have just marked 10 years’ service in the Royal Australian Air Force. I’m British by birth but Australian by choice and have been so lucky to find a way to serve the country and people that have made my family so welcome. We arrived in Townsville back in 2012 so I’m not only a Queenslander but massive Cowboys fan.

Air Force found me in the town and were interested in my background. I was quickly recruited and have deployed to floods, bushfires, COVID along with a host of exercises and operations around the country and abroad.

I see there are pilots in your family. I can’t fly the aircraft but spend a lot of time in or around them which is a real passion. You’re ahead of me in Grandchildren but we welcomed our first last month. He’s set for his first Christmas with us in NSW which will be special.

I wish you and your family a very merry Christmas and thank you once again for such a wonderful gift – I will treasure it

Best wishes

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Good Morning Gail Mac, I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you for my Aussie Hero laundry bag. I absolutely love it, and I’m so glad it gave you the chance to work with yellow-your favourite colour!It truly brought a smile to my face when my wife sent me a photo of it while I was away, and it’s an item I will cherish for years to come.Thank you again for your time and effort.

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Hello Lois S,

I just wanted to let you know that I received the Aussie Hero Quilt in the mail about a week or so ago, and you absolutely nailed the brief..!

You’ve absolutely captured all of my key interests of history, music, theatre and AFL and the three ships I served on and I love how you incorporated the anchors into the design and well as the anchor cable border..! Very cool also how the reverse side has all the music in the design..!

As you know, I am coming up to 40 years of service and will be transitioning to the Reserves mid year.. This quilt will certainly be a fantastic memento of my career and will be a treasured item in our family.

Our son has now embarked on his own Naval career so the story goes on..!

Thanks again for your artistry and care in the design and the actual work of making the quilt, the effort is not lost on me and I greatly appreciate it.

Regards,

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Hi Sue-Ellen S,

Thank you so much for your beautiful letter. I really appreciate the time, effort and heart you put into writing it, and of course into making the quilt and laundry bag. They truly exceeded my expectations, the craftsmanship, detail and care that went into them means a lot. Please know they will be well-used and well-looked after.

It was lovely reading about your connection to the Army and your family’s service. Your son sounds like he has had an incredible career so far, and I’m sure having him and his family close by is a real blessing.

I also enjoyed hearing about your mum’s and dad’s contributions. That generation showed such strength and resilience, and it’s inspiring to hear how your family has been woven through different parts of Australia’s history. And yes, pulling beers at the RSL absolutely counts! It’s an important part of community, and no doubt you brightened many people’s days.

I’m glad you enjoyed the AHQ weekend in Canberra. I’ve heard great things about those events, and your description definitely makes me want to attend one in the future. I’ll have to look up the book you mentioned as well, it sounds very interesting.

Thank you also for looking up my workplace. It’s a unique unit with a lot happening day-to-day, and I’m grateful to work alongside such a dedicated team. Your support through AHQ honestly means more than you know. When we receive something handmade with purpose and care, it serves as a reminder that people are thinking of us, it really does make a difference.

Wishing you and your family a very warm and happy Christmas. Thank you again for your kindness, your craftsmanship, and the support you show to so many of us across the services.

Take care, and enjoy those well-earned slow mornings.

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Good evening Jan-Maree,

Apologies for the delay it’s been a super busy period.

I received my laundry bag and am incredibly impressed with how it turned out. You definitely surpassed my expectations, and on reading the letter I’m glad I gave you a challenge with the Bane and Joker theme. I also love the background colour, its incredibly unique and I’m grateful for the amazing work you did.

Kind regards,

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Bridget R,

Hello! Just reaching out to thank you for the amazing quilted Aussie Beer themed laundry bag. It is way better than I could have imagined and can’t wait to try it out at sea. Everyone was quite jealous to see mine come in!

I am an United States Submarine Officer and am doing an exchange program here in Australia. I am stationed on HMAS Farncomb and have been here for nearly 2 years. I’m due to leave to go back to the States soon to continue on with my next sea posting. My husband and I have really enjoyed living in WA and are heart broken to already be leaving. I am already scheming up ways to get follow on postings here! We dream of retiring somewhere south in WA.

It sounds like you have a very loving and warm family and hopefully some extra help around the house! My husband and I can attest to having more than normal time at home with each other as of recently. It is a different dynamic for sure. We unfortunately had to leave our pups in the States for this posting as we have a Giant Schnauzer and a Portugese Waterdog and were scared to ship them cargo for the 36hrs of flights it would take to get them here. I definitely understand what you mean when you say that your fur babies complete the family.

Anyways, I just wanted to reach out and let you know your beautiful work has arrived safely and I really appreciate your time and effort to do something special for us out here.

Hope you have a wonderful holiday season with friends and family!

Respectfully,

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Hi Ruth S,

Thank you so much for my beautiful laundry bag- I love it so much, and you couldn’t have designed it more perfectly- it’s absolutely me 🙂 My 5 year old daughter is especially taken with it, and not surprisingly, has tried to claim it as hers!

I can’t believe you have made over 1,600 laundry bags for our serving personnel. That’s so impressive, and I was so glad to read that it has brought you so much joy. Thank you for YOUR service in acknowledging our service, and making such beautiful keepsakes to mark our time in the ADF.

I have worked for Defence since 2008, first as a public servant who then commissioned in 2014 as a public affairs officer. I served in the Middle East in 2016, and have stayed mostly in public affairs and communications during my service.

I am Mum to three. I have lived in Melbourne for most of my life, with a 7 year stint in Canberra. We now live right on the border of the Mornington Peninsula (200 metres away from the border, so we claim it!!). We spend our free time at the beach, fishing, boating, mountain bike riding and bush walking, and my daughter and I are ‘pit crew’ for my husband and the boys when they ride the dirtbike.

Thank you again for my beautiful keepsake, Ruth.

Take care, and I hope you continue to enjoy making laundry bags and spending time with your children and grandchildren.

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Cheers Catherine D

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

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