I know you will indulge me if tonight is just a short post - I am determined to SEW.
Aussie Heroes would not function without the help of the wonderful volunteers. Of course there are all the wonderful ladies around the country who sew for us. Then there are the wonderful quilters who take the quilt tops and quilt them or completely finish them off - I am not going to name them all as I am sure that I will forget someone but they know who they are and without them we would struggle.
On Monday Tracey came to help. Her husband is on HMAS Darwin and he has not even requested a quilt but still she is happy to come and give her time to Aussie Heroes. Tracey is not a sewer.........yet............hanging around with other quilters can be infectious.......but she comes and helps me do other NON-SEWING chores. On Monday Tracey packed up a dozen quilts that are waiting for their recipients to return to Australia (they came home early) and then she sorted boxes ready for the next batch of quilts. In the coming days Tracey is going to be looking at the pages on the blog- the Intro page, the How to Help page etc. Those all need updating and I just don't have time.
There are also the ladies who come to the sewing days. Yesterday was our fortnightly sewing day at my home. I was joined by Evelyn, Robin and Gail and they sewed like crazy. I have no idea how many quilts they had to bind and label but whilst they sat at their sewing machines I was packing quilts into boxes. I got most of them done but had three left to do this morning and there are five boxes of laundry bags yet to pack. Still, I managed to get 16 boxes and some satchels to the Post Office this morning.
There were no trolleys around so I took the satchels in and asked the guys if they just wanted me to stack the boxes in the usual spot and guess what - one of the fellows came out to the car and carried them in for me! Now that is what I call service! AND because I am usually there at 9am they have told me that next time I have a bunch of boxes I am to back into the Postal van parking spot and unload straight into the PO. Got to love good service.
We are just about at the end of sending quilts to HMAS Darwin. My absolute MUST BE POSTED BY Date is 31 May but I would really like all quilts to be in the mail as soon as possible as I always get nervous with the ships. Their mail routines can be all over the place and it is better to send off the quilts so that they have PLENTY of time to get there whilst they are on task rather than the mail trying to follow them once they turn for home. According to my records there are only five more quilts to hit the mail for Darwin and they are all well under control! Well done everyone!
I messaged the Chaplain and the Captain yesterday to give them the final numbers and let them know how we were going and the captain sent back this message
An absolutely phenomenal effort. I have watched my wife make quilts over the years, usually next to me in my 4WD whilst we are driving around in the bush, and I can testify to the extraordinary amount of work that is required to complete these. I am blown away by the generosity of time and cost that goes into these quilts and I have seen delighted crew members showing them off to their mates. Thank you very much to you and your team of quilters for their support, time and generosity.
I think you should know that we have managed to send a massive 150 quilts to HMAS DARWIN. I never used to release the numbers with the ships because each ship's deployment is different and I ALWAYS make a point of under promising and over delivering. Who knows if we will be able to make that many for the next ship as their deployment will include the lead up to Christmas but we can but try!
What 150 quilts for HMAS Darwin means is that everyone on board who has requested a quilt has received one........even the ones who have dragged their feet and have been really slow putting their request in. Several requests have come from family members or friends of crew members off the ship and I believe there are crew members on board who have already received quilts from previous deployments. Personally I think everyone involved with AHQ should pat themselves on the back because this is a pretty good result. And to think we have kept up with all the requests from those on the land as well.
A big BZ to all!
Till next time............................keep spreading the word and happy stitching! JMxx
I cannot imagine how it must be to tackle what you do, and get some phenomenal sewing in as well! I salute YOU Jan-Maree, My Hero. I think You should be up for am award, Imagine the publicity that would get! A great Job everyone.
ReplyDeleteWell done Jan-Maree!! Got the PO well trained!!
ReplyDeleteSo good to read the post!
What a wonderful buzz you always give us,inspiration and give us all a reason to keep going.Well done! I think taping the boxes up is the most tedious for us, getting our care packages done is very much a fun and honour ,the tape can be painful lol as I do it at night sitting with mum I have to do it in the adds as the noise only tape can make is annoying .
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