I told the gent that his quilt was on its way and this was his response!
“The work that you and Aussie Heroes team do is simply amazing and there is a lot very very appreciative men and women here that want to pass on their thanks.
“Hi Jan-Maree,
You’ll never guess what arrived in the mail today!
What an amazing quilt-I am totally wrapped! Thank you so much to all those involved for taking the time to put this together-(I’m guessing hours, although I’m sure it would take me months!)-it really made a huge difference to my day-and will continue to put a smile on my face right up until the end of my deployment. It’s currently taking pride of place above my bed and is serving as a nice reminder of all of the great people back home.
The timing couldn’t have been better in the end – I had just finished up working on a project that has taken up much of my time here, and it was a great “reward” when I had this parcel waiting for me! (apparently it is a fairly well traveled parcel as the post had taken a few wrong turns along the way – but all is (VERY) well that ends well…)
It was also great to be able to read a little about the fantastic folks who put these masterpieces together. A BIG thank you to Stephanie T as well as the ladies at the Penrith Sewing Days for donating their time and effort – I didn’t really know what to expect, but this has totally blown me away – I LOVE it! Thank you! The colors are fantastic and I will definitely cherish this as a special keepsake for a long long time!
Thank you to the Rodriquez tea towel company as well – what a lovely donation. The material is great and I’ll make sure to look out for more of their work when I get home.
The fact that you’ve been able to put together so many quilts is amazing! Because of you and your team, there is over 1700 incredibly happy people and I don’t think there are too many people in the world who can say that they’ve been able to put smiles on so many people’s faces – you should be very very proud!
Thank you again for the beautiful quilt and laundry bag… and for all that you’ve done to help and inspire the folks over here.
All the best,”
Did you note that he said we had sent over 1700 quilts? In every covering letter I tell people how many quilts and laundry bags we have sent to date. We are up to over 1900 now – that is how long his quilt has taken! I am sooooo glad it got there.
And then there is this story, passed on my Meg,
“Here’s a little story to make you smile- My mum was channel flicking the other day; or it could have been the other week, it doesn’t seem long ago, but easily could have been last year, and caught a bit of BTN (not sure if you know what that is. It’s ‘children’s news’ on the ABC) and they were doing a segment on the navy. They showed a room (or whatever the naval word is for that) complete with quilt on the bed! Almost certainly an Aussie Hero Quilt!”
Just so you know, I have been busy sending chase up emails to lots of those people on Newcastle who are on our list. I am checking on any quilts that were sent in May, June and early July and if I hear anything I will let you know. The chaplain is helping me to check them out too. 🙂
…..
Morning Joan and Robin,
Thanks very much for the laundry bag. It’s brilliant!
I love the colours, patterns and the fact that it’s double sided. There appears to be a few of us floating around with the Aussie Hero Laundry bags, so thanks for all the support that you guys have provided to us. We are here for a fairly lengthy deployment and will have completed almost 9 months away from home by the end of our tour. The days can be very monotonous and it’s things like the quilts and bags that puts smiles on our faces.
The room on barracks are generally very sterile and there is very little colour in them, unless you count white as a colour :). As you could imagine, the Aussie Quilts are the centre pieces of most bedrooms, if they were lucky enough to receive one.
Thanks again for all your support.
…..
Jenny
Regards,
…..
hello Jan-Maree,
thank you for my quilt its exactly what I wanted did bring my morale up plus the crews everyone has been really happy with what they all got and appreciate that each quilter put in to get the quilts as good as they were so thank you for this.
cheers
…..
Dear Jan-Maree,
My quilt has arrived, thankyou.
It has served me well as it’s not too warm but keeps me comfortable during these varying climates.
I’m sure it will continue to serve me well when I return home when I pass it on to my young son Jacob.
Pass on my gratitude to all at Aussie Hero Quilts, it’s satisfying to know that we haven’t been forgotten and there’s more people out there besides our family that appreciate and understand the effort and hardship that we endure whilst away.
…..
Dear Debbie,
Firstly a very big thank you for the greatly appreciated gift. As our time here is winding down the little luxuries are starting to disappear, so the biscuits and reading material will go a long way.
(Had to leave out heaps but it was a lovely newsy letter!)
Thank you again for your support and well wishes. All the guys on my team who have received an Aussie Hero Quilt are very appreciative of the time, effort, dedication and commitment that go into making them.
Stay safe, healthy and happy.
…..
This is another quilt that took far too long to get to its owner! Phew. Glad it made it.
Good Morning Jan,
I arrived this morning to find a package which contained my beautiful quilt. I am very appreciative of the work and effort that your members put into making the wonderful creations. It is a wonderful organisation that you have going with so many wonderful people willing to donate their time to creating the fabulous laundry bags and quilts.
Do you require more sewers to come on board and help make quilts and laundry bags? At home I am a member of the XXXXXX Lions Club and if I could help you by getting you name around and maybe recruiting a few more sewers that would like to donate their talents and time to what you are doing I would love to help you if I could. If you do, please let me know any details and I will gladly do some ‘recruiting’ for you.
Once again thank you to you and your wonderful group of sewers. I will of course be sending my personal thanks to Pam Y who made my quilt.
…..
Jan,
I did indeed receive my laundry bag, and it is awesome. But I have lost the piece of paper which detailed my quilter.. could you possibly send me the email address if you have it?(already done it!) If not I will have a search of my rack again to try find it… Either way, my Metallica Laundry Bag is the bomb. Thank you very much!
Yours Aye,
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Till next time………….keep spreading the word and happy stitching! JMxx
What wonderful stories. I just love coming back to this blog again and again to keep me sewing.