Learning to Sew

So, my 7yr old daughter and I finally pulled the sewing machine out of the basement we got as a Christmas gift who knows what year, and we both decided to sit down and learn how to use it. I can sew by hand fairly well and have some experience with repairing fish nets, replacing buttons, joining canvas and leather, the usual Boy Scout stuff, but I have never actually sewed anything on a machine (I was supposed to in that Home Ec class I took in high school but honestly I was only in there b/c of a girl and I let her do all the work; seems like a wasted opportunity now, but alas, I was young and stupid (as opposed to being older and stupid now)).
The 7 yr old thinks that now that we know how the thread runs on the machine we can "get down to business" and make a pillowcase (our first project) right away. I tried explaining we'll have to A: practice a bit B: find a pattern and C: probably get Grandma's help and tutoring before we bite off a project even as seemingly simple as a pillowcase.
Of course, being half German and half Irish, it means she's 100% stubborn and knows it all. She assures me she has seen "patterns" and they are easy, we practiced for a minute when we ran a sample piece of fabric through the machine to see if the thread tension was right and she wants to take her finished pillowcase to Grandma this weekend as a 'surprise'.
If only life was as easy as it is in the eyes of a 7yr old child.