It really was a dream dinner for me. We had such a fun time that I would like to go back sooner than later. I'll need to wait for another special occasion...My daughter turns 30 next year!! LOL barnmom! Frank was as wonderful on the inside as on the outside! Cathy, Raymond is so funny! I LOL and Charles had to come see what I was laughing about. We both laughed! Peppi, I wish you all could have been there with us. Especially your Mom. Hey who knows, maybe she was:-) Sherri, Yes, I am spoiled to the core by that wonderful man of mine. Thank you for the sweet comments. Thank you everyone for all the birthday wishes and nice things you all have to say. Tonight it will be cake and ice cream with my Maggie!

You might want to check out the Quilters Table from Joanns. I am not a quilter but I think they call it this because of the grid on top. I received this from my daughters for Christmas. It is a cabinet that folds up. It is 47" long, 15" deep and 29" tall. The top has a quilters grid on it. The back has 2 pieces that fold out and makes the top double in size. Very nice cutting area. Nice casters for pulling out when you want the top expanded. There is a drawer plus a door with 2 shelves on the left side. I am leaving the door off you I can use baskets. Then there is a table that rolls out from the other side and folds back in the seating area. It is attached to the right side. It is suppose to be so you can have a sewing machine and a serger set up at once. It is a Sew Essential product from Joanns. It is called Quilters Design Table - # 184-8746. It is $229.00 but the girls got it for $139.00. They ordered it online and payed only &2.95 shipping. I will be able to wheel it out in my livingroom if I want or sew in the bedroom. Just perfect. In my bedroom I have a 4 drawer file cabinet that will set at the end and I am going to get some of those wire basket type comtainers ( they are magnetic) to put my scissors, pencils and such in to have right where I need them. Not all of the Joann stores carry it so you might have to order it online. It is very heavy.. It is a perfect size if you don't have much room. You can also sit the machines inside the fold out part and use it for a table when not sewing. Susie Susie

A huge part of the equation (as you have seen here) is your individual needs. I'm using the JoAnn's sewing table (probably the one linked above,its the one with 2 drop leaves, on wheels (which lock) and the center under storage); I took painters tape and made my own ruler along one long end.It works really well when I can work standing up (5'8" with long arms) or when i'm having health issues with standing I can sit in a bar stool height chair and work the width of one of the leaves. I also have a tall stool, I altered it previously for kitchen counter work when I'm unable to stand for long, that is on wheels and works if I need more mobility at the table. The size makes it great for clothing (long patterns), crafts and I'm sure quilting (haven't gotten there yet). The sewing machine is a lot more individualized. I am nearly blind, recently moved to bifocals. I have severe fibromyalgia and significant joint issues in my neck. With guidance from my pain management OT and a lot of help from my father we created a not so pretty but very functional set up for me. I was told to get my chest as close as possible to table surface, and sewing level as close to eye level as I could. So I was able to use my bifocal without leaning down or over. And was not REACHING in addition to lifting my arms. I'm still fine tuning. Old machine died last week and the new one threw things a little off. I still need to get a better support chair with rollers. My job currently is to make sure as I lift my hands up to work with fabric NOT to raise my shoulders or extend my elbows beyond the hip width if possible. But I CAN sew and work patterns for hours daily, many days running without ending up on pain meds or in bed exhausted. I'll try to add some photos...been a year since I used this site, my memory is a little foggy. Please excuse the mess in the pictures. I'm in the midst of 6 or 7 projects, and my fabirc organization is totally non-existant. It's driving me a bit mad, but I have plans for reinforcements to come in and get it stashed away. Here is a link that might be useful: pictures of set up on photobucket

I learned to sew at 38 as well :) Taking private lessons with a lovely lady who helped me make my DH a bunch of silk pillows and a crazy quilt. She's an amazing person :) and had many first timers who were well over my age. Her studio was in the basement, and much smaller than yours, and yet she'd have 4 women in there at a time and occasionaly a man would take a lesson as well. I learned curtains with a wonderful guy trying to suprise his future wife with a redecoration of their wedding home. She did instill one bad thing in my little mind. I just couldn't go home to the manual brother machine I purchased at wally world for a couple hundred dollars. She had all bernina's, all computerized and she also had babylock sergers. Now I can't live without the best machine I can afford. Six years ago I didn't sew a seam and now I think it would be nice to upgrade my 3500 machine LOL what a machine snob!!! That's loretta's fault entirely :) But she also gave me a hobby I love, and that I've used to raise thousands of dollars for charity, so take that as a small hint to not forget the old people like you and me when you're giving lessons :) (And put the old people on really cheesy machines) LOL my husband asked me to add that.