Linda Kemshall

I had a milestone birthday this week. Turning 60 is a shock to the system but, a day later, nothing seems changed, the world is still turning and apart from the fact I keep telling everyone I'm 60 now you know like some scratched record, everything is back to normal!

I have been treated to some wonderful gifts. So what do you give the woman who has everything? Well what about an adjustable sewing stool? Laura spotted this piece of industrial history in a local antique shop.

If you look closely at the feet you can see it was made for Singer sewing machines. I can alter the height of the seat until it's a perfect match for my sewing table.

And how about this for a fascinating object? The 'other half' found the key case in an architectural salvage yard. It may have taken a while but it seems we've got him trained to find treasure at last!

I've always loved the shapes of keys and we've been using them a lot in our work recently, both for printing and embroidery. Ideally it's best if the keys belong to your own house or somewhere you lived in the past - that way it feels that they have greater significance in your artwork but there's a limit to the number of old keys you can accumulate over the years so finding a ready made collection like this is definitely the next best thing.

After scanning and digitising the shapes are stitching out beautifully. This detail shows them used on the sleeve of a fake leather (pleather) jacket which we'll be displaying on our stand at Festival of Quilts next month. Just writing that it's happening next month throws me into a panic - there's still so much to do and so little time to do it in! Better get back on the case!!

Talk to you again soon - Linda