Sunday Sharing

Happy Birthday Chelle

Chelle is a very special Aussie Hero Friend, having started out as one of our recipients from Operation Mazurka in the Sinai in Egypt.  Those of you who were around last June will remember this video but all of you newbies certainly need to see it!

Chelle is now busy making quilts for her fellow Aussie Heroes now having come home and got straight onto learning to quilt.

Happy Birthday Chelle!

P.S. to protect the innocent I won't mention who helped with the photo (Naomi) but much appreciated!

:-)

Tomorrow night I am going to be doing an HMAS Toowoomba Update Post 

tomorrow night's post and I thought it might be fun to post some of the quilts and laundry bags we sent them in the one post BUT to save me trying to find them all in among all the pics of the quilts please email me if you sent one and would like yours included in the post.  That will be the quickest way for me to find the photos - and if you want to be really helpful you could just send me the photo again.  Anything that saves me time is a good thing.

More great messages to share today - get ready to smile!

Hey there Jan-Maree,

  I just want to let you know that I received my quilt.  WOW!  What can I say?  It's amazing, I can't get over the skill, time and care that must have gone into it.  I have sent Rita THANK YOU for co-coordinating this wonderful operation that you have going.  It really means a lot to me to know that our work is appreciated by those back home.  Thanks again Jan-Maree, 

And the same fellow sent this email to Rita.

Dear Rita,
THANK YOU for such an amazing gift! The quilt is fantastic. It has brightened my room immensely! I have to wear sunglasses to bed now but that's a small price to pay for such an amazing quilt ;-)

I am a fitter and turner by trade and have always enjoyed making things from scratch (another reason I admire your quilting so much). I recently made a "big cake knife" for the RAAF birthday cake here in theatre as well as a farewell gift for our legal officer 

I requested a quilt with motorcycles as I am a very passionate biker, I have a Honda Shadow 750 that has a few after market bits and bobs on it. Its not a Harley but I love her just the same. I am also involved with a Motorcycle Ministry "Bikers For Christ". It started in the US 20 years ago and is in Australia now.
 
 I have attached a few photos of my family and my quilt now making my room much more friendly and homely.
 
Anyway  I'll leave it at that and just say THANK YOU so much once more.
 
God Bless,

Hi Jan-Maree,

Finally! A picture! I'm sorry it's taken so long to organise, but when XXXXX's quilt arrived not long after XXXXX's we hit critical mass and XXXX the Phot (Photographer) happened to be in the building (rarely happens) we carped the diem and got a photo. Yay! XXXXX takes a great photo. I hope it's useful to you for the website. :) Of course, the three of us cutting about the HQ with gorgeous quilts and massive grins on our face got everyone asking about the quilts. We've passed on your details a lot in the last few days. 

Thank you again Jan-Maree. I am grateful every night I crawl under my quilt at the end of a long day, and most mornings I'm pretty reluctant to leave it (!) but there's stuff to be done that cannot be ignored.

XXXX, XXXXX, and XXXXX all say hi! And send their best wishes.

Hugs! :) 

PPS: I can't believe the lady who made XXXX's quilt (the one in the middle of the photo) is from the quilt shop in Bendigo! That's where my mum and dad live! Small world :)

Hi Jan-Maree!!!

I got your mail today....awesome!!!   there were two other blokes in my room when i opened it and they were pretty impressed too

Yesterday was the halfway point for my time here (which left 69 days to go.....that’s doubly awesome :)~     The quilt and bag has been a highlight (and i am not joking), was so cool receiving them, other than that the only cool thing over here is the gym.

Speaking of cool, it hit 48 the other day, have had a few 50 degree days and they tell me it gets hotter than this yet?!  Am noticing not too many folks wondering around during the day. Thank god for air-con.

what you and yours are doing is great!   thank you so much   hope we catch up one day

Good Morning,

I have just returned to my office after being 'away' for a few days and was happily surprised to have a package waiting for me.

Thank you very much for organizing for the package to be sent. The design and quality of the quilt is truly stunning!!! I received a letter from Leanne which I enjoyed reading and I will be sure to write a letter of thanks back to her in the coming days.

Thank you once again. What you are doing for the ADF members is a wonderful thing for which many are truly grateful.

Best wishes

and here is a first  - a thank you email for the first male quilter to make, quilt and send a quilt!

Dear Lindsay,

Today I received a message that I had a few parcels to pick up, one from my boyfriend, one from a unknown country town full of goodies randomly addressed to me and one with a beautiful quilt and laundry bag that honestly made me tear up.

I can not express how grateful I am for the time you have put into this beautiful gift, it is something I will always treasure. I have only been in Afghanistan for a few weeks now and won't be home until the end of the year so something like this truly makes your day and reminds you that your job is appreciated. This gift and the care package I received from the small country town has reminded me how generous Australians are and makes me proud to wear the uniform for it.

I've only been serving in the RAAF for 2 years now and enjoying all the experiences I am getting from it, I've met life time friends and learnt unique skills. It is very hard being away from home and your loved ones so we do try and make our living quarters as homely as possible so this will definitely help that! 

I'm not sure how you got my details but it has put a big smile on my face and I will honestly keep this gift for ever.

Thankyou and hope you have a great weekend,

Hey Stephanie,

Thank you very much for the quilt and for the correspondence, it's always good to hear from people back home. Once again sorry for the late reply but the workload on us has increased lately...like I needed more work. The laundry bag has been great and now I have this kickarse quilt to go with it all the lads are jealous. It certainly beats their plain white laundry bags and issued sleeping bags.

We are now coming to the end of our trip and very much looking forward to going home. We have survived the -10 degree temperatures of winter and we are now suffering through 40 degree days of summer. They say it will hit the 50s just as we're leaving.

I hope all is well for you back home 

This following one is a special story and we had to do a bit of digging to find this fellow.  On ANZAC Dy Rita M wrote to me and I don' think she will mind me sharing it with you in part.

Hi Jan Maree

  Apologies if the  email is a bit water logged  as I have just been watching the full replay of the Dawn Service. There was a very young boy, about 6yrs old,called  XXXXXX  who read the Ode to the Fallen. Reason I say this as it was said that he was the son of XXXXXX (no rank given ) of the 7 RAR who is serving in Afghanistan at the moment . XXXXX was excellent in his presentation and stood next to the announcer all of the service and did not fidget or look bored. His Dad should be very proud of him and I hope he gets to see a replay of the service. Is it at all possible for you to send a congratulatory email to XXXXXX and tell him how proud his son made us all feel and that he is a credit to him and his wife and the younger generation of today.  I know there may have been other children doing similar things but feel a bit of an affinity with the 7RAR as they are based here in SA and I have come into contact with many of them through AHQ

Well, we went one better.  I have had a great relationship with HQ 7RAR TG and they have been very helpful in all sorts of ways but once I explained what we wanted to do they gave me the details I needed to get a quilt to XXXX (the Dad) whilst deployed and here is his response when the quilt arrived.

Hello Jan-Maree,

I received the quilt today and firstly, thank you very much. The day was very emotional for me and for somebody to take time out of their day and do what you have done is truly appreciated. The amazing support you have shown to all in 7 RAR TG is amazing and on behalf of everybody in the 7 RAR TG, thank you.

I did not dare to open the quilt in case of getting dust on it that seems to be everywhere here.  My wife is very much looking forward to seeing it. 

Anyway, thank you very much. The support yourself and other amazing Australians have provided have reminded us all just how great Australian's truly are.

Kind Regards, 

If he hasn't opened the quilt he hasn't seen Rita's letter so will not know it was made by a South Aussie.   I expect Rita will be hearing from them once XXXX gets home.

Joan and Robin,

                            Hi I'm XXXXX currently deployed in Afghanistan and I thought I would sent a quick email to say thanks for the laundry bags that you sent over here. They will be well used and I appreciate the time you have put in with making them. So again thank you and I plan to stay safe.

Thanks,

Dear Keryn,

This email is to thank-you so much for the West Coast Eagles quilt you recently sent me in the mail.  I've attached a photo of it with myself.   The unit I work for is responsible for the security and force protection of the base and its personnel.  

Summer is quickly approaching us here and temperatures are getting into the high 30's and 40's which is mild compared to what it will be like in a month or so.

Lastly, its the support back home from people and organisations such as yourself which makes our deployment here so much more bearable.

Thanks once again for your generous donation. 

Very Kind Regards,

Bearing in mind the fact that our quilts are around 6ft long - guess how tall  this fellow is!  6ft 7inches!  Bet they call him Shorty, or Stretch!

Jan-Maree

I received the quilt and laundry bag today they are fantastic and I will cherish this as a fond memory of my time in the MEAO and knowing there are people back home that  are supporting all of us who can't be home whilst serving. Once again thank you and your organisation for the men and women abroad.

Cheers and best wishes

Hi Jan-Maree, 

I have just received the quilt and laundry bag just few days ago. 

I would just like to say thank you, to you and the quilting ladies, it is excellent!

I have written a letter to Anne thanking her for the quilt, laundry bag as well as the puzzle books (they were a hit with the boys, I have to share them on a daily basis) 

So again please pass on my thanks to all the quilting ladies for the job they are doing, I've spoken to a few people who received quilts and they are all very grateful and impressed with their wonderful gifts whether they be quilts or laundry bags.

We are all safe and now a lot warm and cozier with our new quilts, we all were running around showing each other the item we received, I suppose a little like big kids comparing new toys.

Sincerely, Thank you

Cheers for now everyone.  JMxx

Till next time................keep spreading the word and happy stitching!