Lusting over Amy Butler Fabric & A Call for Your Help...

I LOVE Amy Butler fabric...LOVE IT! 

The colors and the designs are so delicious! 

I bought some a couple years ago and had a diaper bag made.

Here are some of the fabrics & projects I am currently in love with:

We don't have a lot of room for seating in our living room...so how great would those large floor pillows be?

The above inspiring projects were made using these fabrics

from the Love Collection by Amy Butler:

I am in LOVE with the duvet cover in the last picture....so I about fell out of my chair when I saw you can download the pattern for FREE!!

And how awesome is that chair?! It would look so good in my living room!

 The above items were made using the following 

fabrics from Amy Butler's Dew Drops Collection:

I have so many things bookmarked that I want to make with Amy Butler fabric.  Which leads me to my next point, I have been talking about how one of my goals this year is to learn how to sew...and I want some help from you dear readers....

• What are some easy beginner projects? 
• Would that duvet cover be too much for a newbie?
• What is a good beginners sewing machine? I don't want anything too expensive or to fancy.

Any Suggestions?