Mrs Mogilin has been quilting for more than 20 years and was looking for a way to use her skills to give back to the community.

When she heard of a new movement spreading among quilters, providing quilts and laundry bags to our troops in Afghanistan, she immediately offered to help.

Mrs Mogilin said the son of a woman in her sewing group was deployed to Afghanistan last year.

The women in the group soon became all too familiar with the concerns of our troops and their families when two of her son’s friends were fatally wounded in late 2011.

With the defence force’s support, the Aussie Hero Quilts movement gained momentum and it wasn’t long before Mrs Mogilin became aware and jumped on board.

She quickly enlisted a number of her sewing contacts and they have begun making laundry bags to send to our troops in time for Anzac Day.

“The bags [our troops] are issued are khaki or white and hundreds at a time are sent to the laundry,” she said.

“Apparently it is quite common for our troops to lose their uniforms as people pick up the wrong bags. A colourful fabric bag makes their uniform easy to identify.

“They are out there doing a great job for our country and this way we can show our support for them.

“A much-needed gift like this from a literal stranger gives our boys and girls a sense of pride and a little piece of home when they might be homesick. It reminds them that they are not forgotten out there and puts a bit of colour into their life instead of the monotonous khakis and navy blues.”

Mrs Mogilin and other supporters will also put small toiletries, chocolates and other luxury items in with their care packages.

“Our packages mainly go to single men without a wife or somebody to support them,” she said.

Quilts and laundry bags made and packaged to strict specifications are free to send to the Defence Force in NSW between March 15 and April 15 for Anzac Day and November 6 to December 8 for Christmas.

More than 100 quilts, enough for 10 per cent of the troops deployed to Afghanistan, have been made by sewing groups around Australia and will be delivered in time for ANZAC day.

If you wish to make a contribution, Patchwork Orange is willing to help people donate their time on a sewing machine set up for the purpose, receive fabric donations to be made into quilts and laundry bags or they offer a 20 per cent discount on purchases to be donated to the cause.