Happy Wednesday Friends!

A wonderful collection of gratitude letters.

So, grab a nice warm cuppa or cold drink (depending on where you live!), sit back and relax while you soak up some well-deserved gratitude!

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Good Evening Kristi B,

I would like to thenk you so much for my incredibly made laundry bag!

You nailed the Red Bull, Max Verstappen, F1 Theme - I am so grateful.

I enjoyed reading your letter and am excited to know the crafter is also an F1 fan. Whilst not rooting for the same team, i cannot deny that Piastri is my second favourite driver - obviously as our Australian representative - but seems to be the sweetest soul on track. I went to the Melbourne Grand Prix with my family this year - we absolutely loved it and I am glad to hear you've had the opportunity to also attend. I found them to be much quieter than the F2 and F3 cars, including the Supercars. So much track action - was there for almost 10 hours each day (went the full 4 days).

I am moving to Malaysia for 3 years in November and will be placing the Singapore Grand Prix (maybe others) on the list to venture to for the next few years. Big plans for more travel indeed.

Your first try at embroidery was excellent and you should be very proud. Your skills are quite impressive, especially the F1 car itself and the Red Bull logo with the bulls! Plus to mention, my own crafted logo you made me - love it.

It is quite cold down here in Canberra, however, I hope you're enjoying some sunshine. I will be heading to the snow this coming weekend so will be travelling to where it is even colder.

Lastly, thank you so very much for your charitable efforts and contribution to Aussie Hero Quilts. It is such a fabulous way to do a craft you enjoy and to bless others with your gift. I hope you continue to enjoy retirement, especially your travels with your husband and cute dog. I will close by thanking you for the work you conducted as a childhood educator, whilst I do not have children myself, those that work in education play and will continue to play critical roles in the future generation. A role to be honoured.

I wish you all the best, a bright future and make sure to stay safe out there!

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Hello Lois S,

I’ve taken some time to try and find the right words to thank you, but I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to fully capture just how much this means to me.

When I received the quilt, I was honestly taken aback. Not just by how beautiful it is—although the design is absolutely incredible and something I genuinely love—but by what it represents. You can see and feel the care, time, and heart that has been put into every part of it. It’s something truly special.

This isn’t just a quilt to me. It’s something far more meaningful. It’s a reminder that beyond the job, beyond the day-to-day challenges, there are people out there who care deeply and go out of their way to show that support. That kind of kindness is rare, and it stays with you.

What you’ve created will always have a place with me and with my family. It’s something I will hold onto for the rest of my life. It will be part of our home, part of our story, and something I will always look at with pride, gratitude, and a sense of connection to the people who made it.

My family absolutely loves it as well, and they could immediately see how meaningful it is. That made it even more special, knowing it’s something we’ll all appreciate together for years to come.

What you and the team at Aussie Hero Quilts do goes far beyond making quilts. You give people a sense of appreciation, recognition, and connection that is hard to describe but deeply felt. It’s something that lifts people up more than you probably realise.

Please pass on my sincere and heartfelt thanks to everyone involved. I may never have the chance to meet you, but I will always carry a sense of gratitude and respect for what you’ve done.

Thank you—for your time, your effort, your kindness, and for creating something that I will genuinely treasure for the rest of my life.

With the utmost respect and appreciation,

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Good morning Philomena,

I recently received a beautiful laundry bag from you along with a letter.

I really enjoyed reading about all the amazing places you have travelled and the interesting life you’ve lived. It’s an honour to serve because I love our way of life and travelling our beautiful country which I look forward to doing more.

I love the laundry bag, its got a big rainbow trout on the front and more freshwater fish on the back. It reminds me a lot about home growing up fishing with my parents.

A little bit about me, I joined the Navy at 17. I trained at HMAS Cerberus before posting to HMAS Canberra in September 2022 where I have sailed to Vanuatu, Phillipines and New Zealand as well as various ports around Australia.

I posted to HMAS Waterhen mid last. At the beginning of this year I posted back ontoCanberra again.

Thank you again.

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Dear Rachel B,

I just wanted to send a heartfelt thank you for the beautiful Aussie Hero Laundry Bag you made for me. This is my first ever deployment and this is my first ever Aussie heroes laundry bag!

It is such a special gift and knowing the time, care, and love that went into making it makes it even more meaningful.

I found the lolly laundry bag which had M&Ms, skittles, liquorice and all things sweet which honestly, summarises me the absolute best! Hehe. It felt like it was meant to be! Thank you for the personal touch, it’s the little details that make your gift so memorable.

Please know how much your kindness and generosity is appreciated. Your support means so much to those of us serving, and your LB will be treasured for all my years to come.

I also wanted to further thank your volunteer colleagues that also take the time and care to make such beautiful designs and laundry bags. 2SQN deeply appreciate the extended offer to provide anyone who has not ever received a laundry bag or quilt and I know that’s greatly appreciated amongst the unit.

Thank you again for your incredible work and for thinking of me.

With gratitude and warm wishes,

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A note from the crew of HMAS SUPPLY:

"Tremendous thanks to the amazing volunteers at Aussie Hero Quilts for crafting and donating beautiful laundry bags and delicious Anzac biscuits to our Ship’s Company ahead of SUPPLY’S deployment.

These thoughtful gifts are more than just practical; they are a precious reminder of the crucial support we receive from home that strengthens us while we are away
"

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Hello Angie,

Thank you for your time and heart felt letter, it speaks volumes to your families traditions, character and patriotism. Your appreciated effort not only provides a necessary service but touches the hearts and minds of home-sick service personal who miss our families whilst away in foreign lands, renewing our vigour and reaffirming our purpose.

I am a recent recipient of one of your fine laundry bags – the blue North Melbourne Kangaroos one. When I handled the bag - I could immediately appreciated the effort, time and skill utilised in its creation.

Your organisation's laundry bags are useful items, each with a unique & personal touch. The provision of your laundry bags has been a touching highlight to myself and everyone I am currently serving within my current operation. Not only do they meet a necessary requirement but each items individuality aids in reducing confusion and potential anxiety when tracking clothing items which potentially hold high personal value and memorable significance.

I am a current serving member of the RAAF for over twenty years. My role is to provide air operational capability as a technical maintainer & have worked in many challenging locations along-side many arms of our ADF. I am the first generation in my family to proudly serve and have done so in many out of trade roles including an instructional role at the RAAF school of technical training, which provided one of my most challenging and yet rewarding postings of my career. My first squadron straight from trade school was 38 SQN, working on the DHC-4 Caribou, which involved working, on occasion, with our sister squadron 35 SQN. It was a sad day when 35 SQN was absorbed into 38 SQN (as Det B) and sadder still when 38 SQN was stood down. The positive however was that 35 SQN was re-stoodup with the Spartans in RAAF Richmond to later relocate to RAAF Amberley. Anyone you talk too, including many of the army passengers, recount fond memories of both squadron personnel and their uniquely charming rotary piston-prop aircraft.

I am also additionally grateful to yourself and your family's service to the ADF and thus subsequently laying an essential foundation, so we can continue your fine work in providing and securing our great nations interests.

Yours sincerely,

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Hello Marilyn S!!!

I joined the navy straight out of school when I was 17yrs old but I did used to be a kitchen hand at a restaurant and also the only cook at a Mexican restaurant. I enlisted 7 and a half years now I am 25yrs old. Home for my is Brisbane but I was born in Perth.

You sound like you have a massive and wonderful family I love the noise growing up I was always with family and I hope to have that one day!! I envy you quite a lot my father grew up in Victoria and he always says how nice it is!

I myself love the AFL and NRL since I grew up in Perth for a bit. I always go for the Perth teams in the AFL. I go for the Fremantle dockers (not a bandwagon fan). In the NRL you would think I would go for the dolphins but I do not like them which is sad as to see them performing well. I currently don’t have one its been hard to chose a team but next year I've heard of a Perth team joining so I'll defiantly go for them!

I'd like to personally thank you for taking time out of your day for creating an amazing laundry bag for me I love it and currently using it. But also for this note its amazing reading about you and I wish you well as well!

Have a great time and thank you again.

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Hi Rita C,

Just getting back to you after getting my new VERY special laundry bag!

I just wanted to say thank you so much for the care and thought that has gone into my laundry bag, with the materials from the set. You're absolutely right, I was expecting Hobbit/LOTR themed images, but this is so much better and more meaningful. My family and I are originally from NZ, so my parents were very involved in the original filming of LOTR back in the day and I grew up with that influence! Since then I have taken many opportunities to get back and get involved in the source material, including taking a trip over to NZ with my partner last year, where we visited Hobbiton together! So all that to say it is very dear to my heart so this was the perfect thing to receive, and such a crazy coincidence that you have that fabric!

To tell you a bit about myself, I am in the Navy and have been in for about 8 years now. I joined straight from high school at 17 before going to ADFA. I also have family history with my father and his father both serving in the NZ Army. My dad encouraged me more to join the Navy over the other services so I could see more of the world, and because he loves James Bond so the idea must have excited him. He must have been right because I have been on a few deployments so far, including a trip on HMAS Toowoomba this year to Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Japan, and Korea. And now even more interestingly I am actually posted to Japan for 6 months!

Your family sounds lovely and like you have all had such an incredible breadth of experience with the military (even down to the ex boyfriends!). And you're right about the Marines, I work with a few of them on the US base here and they really do think they're the best! It also sounds like your whole family has seen and done so many cool things, and what a treat to be able to settle down where you are, it is lovely down there. I live in Sydney so it's nice to make a day trip down the coast every now and then!

Thanks again for the work you have put into this, I am extremely grateful for the care and thoughtfulness and it will be perfect for my future deployments. I wish you and your family all the best!

Cheers,

A note from Rita:

“There is something special about this LB. He requested Hobbit/Lord of the Rings, and this is the actual fabric from the Hobbit movies. My daughter worked on the movies and at the end of filming she was able to get a huge amount of left over fabric, she had to buy a large suitcase to bring it all home. I’ve made 2 quilts so far”

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Hilary T,

Thank you for your beautifully crafted laundry bag. After being in the Middle East for a month now and using the terrible 'issued' laundry bags, which are blaze orange with ironed on numbers that have a tendency to fall off, it's been great to have something that stands out from the rest of them.

When the bags were laid out before us the design you put together caught my eye immediately, I'm a bit of an 'aviation tragic' and absolutely love the spitfires, hurricanes, S.E.5s, and the prominent RAAF badge.

Back in Australia, I live with my wife and two daughters, who are 19 and 7. My wife is a primary school teacher and my 19 year old daughter is just beginning her course for a medical science degree, my 7 year old daughter is in year two and I'm doing my best at influencing her to becoming a pilot when she grows up.

This is my 29^th year in the Australian Defence Force, I completed 9 years in the Army, first as an infantry soldier, then maintaining UH-1H Iroquois helicopters as an avionics technician. In 2006 I transferred to the Air Force to work on larger and more complex aircraft and to seek a broader variety of posting options for my family and I. Four years ago, after working in the aircraft maintenance world for over 23 years, I decided it was about time I learn to fly them for myself and began training to gain my private pilot license. After two years of flying with an instructor every second weekend I finally received my license at the beginning of last year. I now enjoy planning weekend flights up and down the NSW coast.

Speaking of the EA-18G, I was taken for the ride of my life in the back of one by a Canadian pilot in 2024, his callsign is Yankee (Aussies get your accents mixed up all the time, I'm sure you can relate to that), he took me for an incentive flight as a farewell and reward for serving 6 years in the squadron. Yankee followed a similar path to your husband's, previously flying classic hornets in the RCAF, he's now continuing his career as an Australian citizen and officer in the RAAF.

Thank you again for my lovely laundry bag, there really is something special about the way a properly quilted piece of material looks and feels. It's almost too good to leave it in a dusty dirty desert laundry, I'll have to make sure I treat it to a gentle wash itself every now and then.

I hope you keep up your great charity work with the quilting, it really is appreciated by everyone over here. The variety of designs we received managed to cover most of our tastes, and there were some huge smiles as our team members picked out the bag they liked most from the collection presented to us.

Regards,

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G'day Cath H,

The quilt and laundry bag has finally arrived and they are just fantastical!

I love the northern lights and barnacles and oh it has just brighten my day so much.

The blue theme is also so good, particularly because I was in the desert with no water.

My finance is also in love with them and we keep talking about how when we have kids one day we'd love to show them and wrap them up in these quilts.

So thank you thank you thank you!You guys are amazing.

Kind regards

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Good Afternoon Helen W,

I received one of your laundry bags and just wanted to say thank you!! It’s absolutely beautiful.

A little bit about me, I joined the Navy in 2023 as a Marine Technician and I am currently on my first ship posting, serving on board HMAS Canberra. We have been very busy this year sailing to various places around Australia but it has been so much fun.

Thank you again for the time you put in for all the laundry bags you make, it definitely brightens up my room.

Kind Regards,

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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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