As Austin Powers would say.........

and I can't believe I am quoting him, or allowing my husband to suggest quotes but 

"Throw me a freakin" bone here.  I am the boss, need the Info"  

  In tonight's post I am going to cover all sorts of little bits and pieces to do with the day to day Aussie Heroes business that make it easier to stay organised - or should I say - make it easier for me to stay organised.  I will try and post them in a logical order .....but no promises  LOL

State Your Business

Please, when you email me to tell me that you have posted off a quilt or a laundry bag, or to ask if someone needs a laundry bag, or to ask any other question about a particular request, could you put the name of the recipient in the subject line or in the first part of the text of the email.  Some of you have made lots of quilts now and I can no longer search on your name to find who you are talking about.  

We currently have 167 quilts under construction or should I say 167 requests allocated and being worked on.  Don't ask me how many quilters as that is not so easy to count up but some of you have more than one on your list.  I can search on a name or on a theme or on your name but the more info I have the easier it is and the quicker the search.

So, please always tell me the name of the person you are referring to.  That would be SOOO helpful.

To Laundry Bag or Not To Laundry Bag

When you offer to take up a request can you please let me know if you intend to make a laundry bag?  I don't mind either way but I need to know and there are too many of you (nice problem to have) for me to be able to remember the personal preferences of each of you.  If you can please tell me that would be really helpful as well as it means that at the same time I am allocating the request to you I will be contacting one of my laundry bag making lovelies and asking them to do another please.

Check First, Sew Second

Another request.  Should you hear about a friend, family member, next door neighbour, dog-walker's uncles' brother who is deploying can you please check with me BEFORE you make a quilt?  I am not going to say you can't do it!  I am not the Quilt Police afterall BUT do you really want to make a quilt if Penny Whatshername (should that be Penny W?) is already making a quilt for the same person.  How would you feel if you found out that the quilt you had lovingly crafted for someone was a duplicate?

I will tell you a story.  My friend, Louise, sent me a text last night telling me that she had a friend who knew someone whose son had deployed and not only that, but another friend of the same family was also about to deploy.  Now, Louise, did the right thing and checked with me first.  Of course you would think that if the son had received a quilt from us, in fact if he had requested the quilt himself AND received it, you would think he might have told him Mum!  Think again.  Do you know how many times the WIVES ask me if I know if their husband has received their quilt as the hubby has not mentioned it?  When I make some enquiries I find out the quilt has arrived saf and sound and the fellow just forgot to mention it probably as his first priority was checking on his family.

In the case of Louise's story the son had a quilt already - had had it for several months actually and the fellow who is due to deploy?  ALREADY ON MY LIST.

So, all I ask is that you please check first.

Pedantic about Posting 

I will always ask you to confirm that your parcel is ACTUALLY in the mail.  I love to know that you are planning to post it on a certain day BUT I won't be happy till you tell me it has actually made it to the Post Office.  I have been caught out badly before and the time I am thinking of that fellow missed out on his quilt as it was sent so late and I had to send him another one once he arrived back home.  I had been told the infamous 

"I am going to post it tomorrow!"    

Sometimes life gets in the way so please help me out here.

Photos Please

Just a simple one.  Please don't forget to send in photos of what you are making.  It makes the blog more  colourful and interesting to read and also makes it easier for me to keep records.  If you want some help on taking better photos - don't ask me!  LOL.  Last year I solicited some help and wrote a post including photographic tips which you might like to refer back to - it is here if you are interested.

Missing Something?

If I forget to share a thank you message you have received, or don't post something in the Happy Mail post that you think I should have or worse, if you have notified me that you have posted something off and I have not included it in the Weekly Dispatches please let me know.

Have I got it Wrong  :-(

Have I given credit to the wrong person for your work please always let me know and don't feel you have to apologise for contacting me.  I am, sadly, only human and I make mistakes all the time (just don't tell my kids - they want to know that they can read the blog!)  I am more than happy to be (politely) corrected any time.

Keep an eye on the time

Lastly, please keep an eye on the time, or more importantly, the date.  Requests need to be completed in a timely manner.  I generally set a deadline or posting date for each request and it is really important that you stick to it as much as possible.  If you can't please let me know.  We all know that life can get in the way - unexpected things can happen which throw all our careful planning to the wind - just please let me know.  There is usually something that can be done about it, if not by you, then by me, and afterall the most important things to consider are 1. the recipient needs to get their quilt and 2. Aussie Heroes is not supposed to add any stress to your lives - well hopefully not anyway.

I can't let you go without adding a little bit of colour to the post with a picture.  Any quilter knows that if you put a quilt anywhere on the floor in a quilter's home, the resident dog will ALWAYS lie on the quilt in preference to anywhere else in the house.  This is Snickers (also known as the DIVA) road testing one of my latest quilts!   You can see that she has a whole snuggly bed to lie on, and usually she does, but LOOK there is a quilt, so she just has to lie on that too!

Ahhh, its a dog's life!

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

Sewing Day, Updates and Wonderful Thank Yous!

Hi All,

Today was another sewing day in Penrith and what a productive day.  Liz B made the huge three hour drive (each way!!!) down to join us for a special treat and she brought this quilt along to show me so that I can find it a home.  

Pam came and she got busy stitching nine patches that would become disappearing nine patches by the end of the day.  There are enough for a quilt!

Carolyn took on the task of assembling some of our BOM blocks into a strippy quilt.  

Now, I know someone will recognise their blocks in this quilt so if you do can you please let me know.  I think I know who sent them but please save me from having to go through all the back issues of Happy Mail to confirm it.  This quilt top isn't finished yet.  I am going to applique a certain logo onto it and then it will be off for quilting!  Can't say too much of course.  I do love the way this quilt top has turned out.  It  is so effective for a simple strippy quilt.

Terry's job for the day was to sew more big nine patches, ably assisted by Carolyn once she had finished the strippy top.  These nine patches are ear-marked for a chaplain's quilt - can't say too much!

And then we had these two lovelies.   

Meet Lisa and Chelly.  

Chelly has sewn before, but clothes not quilts and Lisa had never sewn before!  Today they came along for the first time and got stuck into a joint project for a friend of theirs.  When Chelly walked in and immediately got distracted by all the bolts of material and started talking about needing to buy this and needing to buy that a few of us started to giggle.  

Yep, we have another quilter in the making.  Actually, after today, I suspect we have two, as both girls did a sterling job and achieved so much!

And they were loads of fun too!

They worked under the tutelage of Liz B and soon had learned how to cut with a rotary cutter and in short order had produced their first four patches!

Before long they had sewn their four patches into rows 

And two rows into a panel!   

Woo Hoo way to go girls!  What a great effort for a first day, especially for Lisa!

Before we move on to some lovely thank you messages I need to tell you about some changes to the blog.  If you look below the title you will see some pages listed, starting with "Home", "A Brief History" and "Intro to Aussie Heroes".  If you  keep looking you will see that there are Tutorial pages and much more.  The lovely Tech Guru has been slaving over a hot keyboard and has rearranged these pages a little, amalgamated some and added others.  There are now two Tutorial Pages.  One is for Quilts and Misc Tutorials and the other is for BOMs and the Laundry Bags.  If you haven't looked at these pages you will see they contain loads of info and if you have looked at them you will see there have been some changes.  Hope you find them useful.   Thanks so much Naomi!  You are such a big help!

These two messages are from a couple of people on HMAS Newcastle who have heard that their quilts or laundry bags are on their way.

Thank you for your email, I will definitely let you know (when the parcel arrives), I'm so excited.

Can you please pass on to all the ladies who are involved, that it is very much appreciated what you are all doing. It means such a lot to me, knowing someone is taking time out to make something special for our crew, what a great gesture.

Thank you very much for your lovely email and I am very honoured that my quilt is the first one to be sent to the ship. I am sure I will be the envy of many others on board when I receive my quilt before them! Please pass my sincerest thanks to Kerryn and I will be sure to let you know when it has arrived - I can't wait now for the next mail drop! 

This is a very kind gesture to do for us all on deployment and I cannot begin to imagine the enormity of the task for you. I know I will always treasure my quilt, not only as a special reminder of my time away, but also of the support people have for us back home. At times I sometimes reflect on why are we doing this and for what gain, but when an amazing act of generosity like this happens, it becomes clear we have something in our society worth protecting and makes it all the worth while.

Thank you again and I look forward to letting you know it has arrived safely. I am sure I will love it! 

And on with some more thank you messages

Dear Joan,

I wanted to let you know that your box with six laundry bags arrived today. Thanks so much for your efforts - your clearly use a lot of your spare time on our behalf and as always, we are very grateful. The bags have already been distributed this morning and you will not be surprised to learn that the ones with the pig motif went first! I imagine that your bags will all soon be on their way to Australia, as we start to pack up and move home after over seven months here in Tarin Kowt. Your bags will be a constant reminder of our time here and I'm sure will be in use for many years to come.

Thank you again for all your support over the past months.

Kind regards,

For Rita M

Greetings from the land of sand and spitting camels.

Thank you very much for my Arsenal quilt. It looks absolutely fabulous and is now adorning my bed with a great deal of pride and pleasure. Apparently it arrived a few weeks ago but I’ve been ‘over the wire’ so it was a special surprise when I came back.

I can see myself now, sitting on the lounge on a cold winter’s night wrapped in a superbly made Arsenal quilt, while watching Arsenal beating Manchester United. You can’t get better than that.

Thank you again Rita. You have made my deployment a very special one by providing me with a unique and enduring memory. A memory I will look back on in years to come with great fondness.

Thank you and best wishes,

And Rita M has another fan

Hi Jan-Maree,

I have received my quilt and Wow..Rita did such an amazing job.  To be honest I was really touched that someone who doesn't even know me would go to so much trouble to make such a beautiful quilt for me.....It truly hit a soft spot and I cant wait until I can show my wife.

Anyway, I have to run because I am crazy busy at the moment.  This is almost it, we head for home in about a week and I'll be with my wife and children in less than 30 days, how exciting.  Please pass on to Rita my thanks and that she is doing an amazing job not just for the deployed members but also for the work she is doing for the third world countries as well.

Bye for now

Short and sweet for Judy D

Jan!

Just wanted to let you know that my package has arrived thank you so much i love it.

Can you please  thank Judy and Dickie.

This message regarding one of Gweneth's quilts

Jan-Maree,

I have received my quilt and laundry bag, thank you very much it will be/currently is being well used.

Again my sincere thanks to both you and all those in your organisation.

Regards

Where possible I send of a quick email to see if the member has received their quilt. That is how I know we are getting them there safe and sound.  This is one of the recent responses.

Good Evening Jan-Maree,

Yes it has arrived and certainly brightened up my bedroom. When I received it my spirits were certainly uplifted!

Thank you for all the hard work you all put into this amazing service. Just knowing people at home are thinking of us in such a way that they would spend time making a quilt, makes my day. I will be making a donation tonight to ensure this service continues for future members who serve in our defence fource.

I don't normally mention donations but I thought you should know that it is a symbol of how much what we do means to the serving members.

Hi Jan-Maree

I received the quilt and laundry bag today.   Many thanks to Laurel, I think she has done a fantastic job and I appreciate it very much (it is me). The guys here are very impressed as well. As promised a photo. 

Thanks again. 

Can I tell you - his quilt was posted on Monday the 13th at 10am and was in the Middle East in around 6 DAYS!!!  Must have caught a tail wind somewhere!

The following message refers to a quilt sent off by Debbie M

Hi Jan-Maree,

I want to thank you so much. My husband received his quilt and it looks absolutely fabulous!!

He loves it.

Thanks so much once again,

For Maddy

Good day to you,

I just wanted to email and say thank you for the lovely wash bag that you sent me a few weeks ago. It was such a wonderful surprise to receive it and I was truly humbled by your kindness.  Thank you again for your hard work and beautiful quilt making.

Cheers,

Hi Judy,
Thankyou very much for the quilt and laundry bag that you created. It is a wonderful example of your creativity, talent and artwork and lays on my bed.
Along with your letter describing parts of South Western Queensland, they are not only a reminder of Australia but also of the wonderful people of our great country, family, friends and strangers alike.
You and all the other women who make these quilts are extraordinary individuals who together create an extraordinary sense of community that makes Australia the great nation that it is.
Australians like yourself remind us here and elsewhere around the world where Australian Service Men and Women serving on operations, how very grateful we are to have a wealthy country both in its resources but more so in its people that make us service men and women proud to serve you.
I will always remember your gifts and well wishes.
 Regards

Hello Jan-Maree, 
I received my quilt and laundry bag in the mail today. I was blown away by how lovely they were and the thought that went into making them. I have had a smile on my face all day. The generosity is amazing and it makes the things we do here all the more worthwhile knowing there are people like you and the others who do these things out of the goodness of their heart. 
I have to say there are a few jealous people here when they saw my quilt..... It is now a very treasured possession that will remind me of the good things in humanity every time I use it for years to come.
 Once again a very big thank you for my wonderful quilt and laundry bag (I truly love them!) Kind regards, 

The quilt in this email is one that Paul and Paula gave me to pass on to someone appropriate and I think I found it the right home.

Dear Jan-Maree,
I just had to jump on my emails and let you know how thrilled I was to receive two surprise gifts from total strangers, just for me this week.  I had to check the parcel name to make sure it was mine.  Your letter explained that the lady I replaced had set this up before she left.

After arriving at Al Minhad Air Base on my first deployment I was overwhelmed with how full on all the activities were.  The feeling of being isolated from your loved ones was one of the many hurdles to try and overcome.  But to receive your welcomed parcel, just when I required a morale lift, was certainly what I needed to take me out of my doldrums and make me feel more positive about the support I was supplying here.

My little room is now a pleasure to walk in to of an evening after a long day at work.  The bright colours of the quilt are in pride of place on my little bunk.  It really gives the room a touch of friendliness and when I think about how some wonderful people, who I have never met, volunteered their spare time to bring this joy to me I feel even better about being here.  Thank you for being so thoughtful.

Kind Regards,

I don't often post thank you messages that are directed specifically to me as I find that a little embarrassing but I felt I needed to post this one to give you an idea of the magnitude of what we have achieved as a group.   This is from one of my main contacts in 7RAR TG.

I've no idea how many bags you've directed our way since November but I don't think there are too many people in this Task Group without one! We are embarrassed by your kindness and grateful for your personal efforts as the founder and coordinator of AHQ. For many, I know that although the quilt or bag is lovely to receive, it will be of equal importance to know that someone in Australia beyond their immediate family cares enough to make the effort you do. I will make sure that XXX(his postion) 2 Cav (the unit replacing 7RAR gets your details so that you can continue your great work.
Best regards,

7RARTG as a unit has been a dream to work with, and the people I have dealt with have been just wonderful.  I am very happy to know that they will soon be home with their families but I will be sorry to say goodbye to them, especially, as with most of the people I deal with for AHQ, I am unlikely to ever meet any of them.   Thanks guys - thanks to those that have assisted with AHQ and thanks also to the family and friends I have dealt with as well.  I think I will always have a soft spot for the Porky Seven! and hasn't it been fun to adorn the quilts and laundry bags with the occassional pig here and there!

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

Weekly Dispatches 17 May

Good heavens! 
Do you realise we are half way to having sent another 1000 quilts this year already and it is only May!

The tally so far-

17  quilts this week and 51 laundry bags.

447 quilts and 983 laundry bags for 2013

1464 quilts and 2357 laundry bags in total.

Just a little reminder before we get underway with the Dispatches.  

The next sewing day is on this Sunday in Penrith.  We are going to make a simple quilt top for HMAS Newcastle, maybe two depending on the turnout.  Details are as follows.

Sunday 19 May

Penrith Patchwork - 97B Henry Street, corner of Woodriff Street

10am to 2pm

BYO sewing machine and lunch and snacks and materials will be provided.

And now for the parade of quilts and laundry bags for this week.

Debbie M

Bev and Geoff - the photo does not do the colours in this quilt justice - the colours look much prettier in the flesh!

The Happiness Fairies, a quilt group from Melbourne, are back again this year and the next six quilts are their lovely work.

Fran T for a Holden Fan!  

Love the back!

Joan has been on a roll with her laundry bags.

Judith R

Sue and Aileen

Kim

Laurel

Note the backing - perfect colours for an Essendon fan!

Su

Rita C

Rita M

And the green and gold backing

Stephanie D does have some rather cool fabrics in her stash.

Sue and Aileen

Terry

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

Thankful Thursday

Hi All,

Well today I have a wonderful picture to share with you.  Look what I received via email overnight!  Don't you just love it.  I tried to enlarge it in sections so that you could see some of the quilts and the faces in close up but no such luck.  The picture degraded too much.  So, if you sent a quilt to Toowoomba and would like a copy of the picture emailed to you  just let me know.  I did my best to count up and there are about 47 sailors included in this picture from what I can see.- just as well it was taken alongside as there cannot have been many people on duty!

Thanks HMAS Toowoomba - Much appreciated!

Now that is a hard act to follow but I think you will agree that some of these messages are pretty special too.

Dear Joan and Robin,

Thank you dearly for the time, effort and kindness you put into making me the laundry bag. Everything about it is great and I am very grateful to receive it. I would also like to thank you on behalf of all members currently deployed on operations for you generosity and support you both provide to make these deployments that much more homely and comfortable. 

Thank you again.

Sincerely 

Dear Carolyn

I have just received the beautiful Aussie Hero quilt and laundry bag made by your daughter Fiona. It was a fantastic surprise as I had forgotten that I had requested one. Please pass on my thanks to both Fiona and Jan-Maree.

I agree with J-M, the red Southern Cross is reminiscent of the navy Ensign and very fitting for me. It is beautifully made and a credit to your daughter - it certainly doesn't look like she just started quilting.

The quilt will be a prized possession and displayed with pride. While I certainly don't consider myself a hero, it is reassuring to know that those at home are thinking of us.

Thanks again for the quilt ,laundry bag and also the other goodies. They are very much appreciated as is the service provided by Aussie Hero Quilts

Best Regards

Dear Carolyn,

Today I received the beautiful quilt you made and sent as part of AHQ. It is absolutely wonderful and with your letter, such a great thing to keep from my time in AFG.

We can't thank you enough for the beautiful quilts which are sent over

All the soldiers here do their best to give everyone back home something to be proud of and it is so nice to be thought of.

Once again, thank you so much. It is people like you who make the world a nicer place.

Cheers

This message and photo were posted on Facebook

Just got my quilt and laundry bag from Debra S and family in Roma. Thank you so much.

Hi Karen, (KarenBet)

I would like to thank you for the quilt and items that you sent to me. It adds a nice touch of home to my otherwise sterile room. It's nice to know that we are appreciated for the job that we're doing over here, and we have the support of people like yourselves back home. Once again, thank you and I hope you continue to support my colleagues in any way that you can.

regards,

Dear Jacqui,

 This is just a quick email to say thankyou for the amazing quilt you made me of the surfer.

You have absolutely no idea how much of a morale booster it was for me. The attention and care you put into it was truly amazing

and I will be using it for years to come.

Your support to me and my fellow workers is amazing.

Thanks again

Hi Kerryn, I received  one of your laundry bags today from WO XXX. A few months ago I was in Afghanistan and I received a quilt on the day that I left and never got a chance to write an email of thanks to the person who made it as I lost her email address. (Nancy)  It was also beautiful and a great morale boost.
I'm now on my 2nd tour this year and I've been lucky enough to get a laundry bag! I just want to thank you and all the other people at "Aussie Hero Quilts". I will get lots of use out of the laundry bag and I've taken the quilt home to my parents so they can look after it for now as it really is something that I would like to pass onto my children if I have any. Thankyou again, Kind Regards,

Hi Kerryn, Thank you for the lovely laundry bag!  It'll make it a lot easier looking for laundry in the washing room now! I received the orange and white striped one with Australian flags etc on the patch. I am on my 7th deployment and 4th time to the MEAO (Middle Eastern Area of Operations). It was great to experience ANZAC day over here.  This is now my 3rd ANZAC day while I've been deployed and they have all been special. Thank you for taking your time to think of us deployed and for making us such a lovely gift. Regards,

Hi Julie,

I would just like to thank you for the laundry bag and biscuits (my favourites). I've only been here a short time so I was suprised to receive a package. It's nice to see the support that we receive from back home, especially from ex-serving members. Please pass on your thanks to your husband and tell him that the Hercs (C130 Hercules aircraft) do a great job over here moving cargo and pax.(passengers)

Regards,

As usual on a Thursday night here is the list of those that have sent off quilts and laundry bags this week.  


Bev
Debbie M
Deborah and the Happiness Fairies
Fran T
Judith R
Karen B
Kerryn C (WA)
Kim
Laurel
Rita C
Rita M
Sue and Aileen
Stephanie D
Terry


If you have sent something and are not on the list please let me know and if you haven't already, please send me a photo.

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