While the Sydney Pot Luck Dinner is on, and around 25 of us are feasting on assorted yummy foods, the rest of you get to read part two of the story of Kiwi Karen’s quilts.

Her third recipient came from the Joint Movements Coordination Centre (JMCC) in Al Minhad Air Base.  When I received his request his name made me suspect that he was another Kiwi and then when he said his favourite colour was black I decided it was worth checking with him. Sure enough I was right and Karen’s next request was confirmed.  I am sorry but this is the clearest photo I have.  Aoteraroa was included again as was the national anthem and this time Karen added lots of other details.  Both the Royal Australian Artillery Badge and the Royal Australian Corps of Transport badge were added plus pictures of NZ native birds.  

There really isn’t a big blank section in the middle of the quilt but the clever tech guru has hidden a picture of the recipient and his name.  That funny black and white animal is a honey badger which is the unofficial mascot of the JMCC and the wagon wheel you can see is their patch. 

This quilt, for some reason, took quite a while to get to the recipient but it was worth waiting for.  

Jan,
Well you will be happy to know my quilt found me safe and well. WOW!!!! What an amazing job Kiwi Karen did. I am so grateful, thank you ever so much. It is perfect. You guys are doing such an amazing job thank you very much. I will be sure to write back to Kiwi Karen in the coming days to express my thanks. 

Two more quilts came along for Karen.   It is quite amazing actually that Karen would just about finish one quilt and another would come along. It may be tempting fate but at the moment Karen is busy with other things and is not in a position to take on another Kiwi quilt and guess what, none have presented themselves!  

The next quilt was a request from a wife. She told me that her husband’s favourite colour was black and that he loves all things NRL and rugby and more specifically, Warriors or All Blacks.  Well that seemed like a dead giveaway so I just had to check.  Sure enough we had another ex-Kiwi on our books – kind of makes you wonder if there are any left over there…..  🙂

Take care

Karen’s final quilt (for now) was for another Kiwi that I found. This time I did some snooping and found a Kiwi who was deployed as part of the 2 Cavalry Task Group.  I had a Kiwi themed tea towel laundry bag, courtesy of Bev, and it needed a home.  I asked a few questions of the right people and guess what!  Another ex-pat Kiwi and another project for Karen. 

The background fabric was chosen because Karen thought it looked like a basketweave. The other fabrics are New Zealand prints.

Under the flag we have 

Blue Koru – NZ Heritage

In case you were wondering…

The koru (Maori for “loop”) is a spiral shape based on the shape of a new unfurling silver fern frond and symbolizing new life, growth, strength and peace. It is an integral symbol in Maori art, carving and tattoos. The circular shape of the koru helps to convey the idea of perpetual movement while the inner coil suggests a return to the point of origin.

And the Tiki?

The term is also used in Maori Mythlogy where Tiki is the first man, created by one of the Gods. He found the first woman in a pond – she seduced him and he became the father of daughter.

Here is one story of Tiki among the many variants: Tiki was lonely and craved company. One day, seeing his reflection in a pool, he thought he had found a companion, and dived into the pool to seize it. The image shattered and Tiki was disappointed. He fell asleep and when he awoke he saw the reflection again. He covered the pool with earth and it gave birth to a woman. 

And another lovely thank you message for her as well.  I had to edit a lot out of this one as I don’t include any personal information about families and there was a lot of this shared in this letter but this is what I can comfortably share.