quilting details

The quilt I am making for my son is on the back of the chair. It is pretty much done, except for the seam binding around the edges to finish it. When Dallas and his family visited recently, I was able to lay it out on their bed so they could see what it was like! They loved it! :o) 

As you may be able to see by the photo, the sewing machine I have now has a very small space for extra fabric to go through when sewing something as large as a quilt. It is only about 5" of working area. I have been considering a new machine more suited to quilt making with a larger "throat" - the open area from the needle to the right where it hits the machine. The day this photo was taken was my birthday!! Steve encouraged me to go back to the store where I had looked at sewing/quilting machines earlier and get one! 
We went down together, I made my decision - A Janome M7 with 13.7" of working area for quilts . . . and whatever!! happy, happy happy birthday to me! It is on order & I should have it in a week or two. It will allow me to do some additional quilting on Dallas quilt easily, yay! 

I also went  to my mom's house last night for a wonderful Birthday dinner. My sister & her husband have been visiting from CT and Mom & Kathy provided delicous hors d'oeuvres and served a sumptious red wine (beaujolais) ... Kathy made a fantastic salad with a dijon mustard dressing and my mom made beef bourguignon- all so yummy!! Mom, who is 85, also made a heavenly pie, my grandmothers recipe. It is made with meringue as a crust and a custardy middle made with something tart!! Ooooh lala! Plus, my mom sang Happy Birthday to me when she opened the door, too sweet. I could just imagine her singing to me when I was a little girl. I still feel like a girl sometimes, but I am now 63!!! I will add the card Steve drew & gave to me in the extras :o)))) He always makes me laugh!!