craftgrrl | Basic questions for a scared newbie! (Reply)

So I got my first sewing machine for Xmas without warning. It's a great gift, but I'm still very nervous about messing it up. I've wound a bobbin and threaded the machine and even did a test run on some thin fabric. Now I want to try sewing a small project. I have basic cotton fabric in a few yards and I have tons of polar fleece *left over from my hand sewn scarves*

I want to start off with either a wrist cuff or maybe an ear warmer. But my next project in mind is a lunch bag like the ones seen here:

My hesitation is due to the fact that my machine's manual doesn't explain what types of stitches to use with which fabrics. And also, if my machine can handle certain fabrics. So I was hoping maybe you guys could point me in the right direction.

I have a PFAFF hobby 1132. It's very basic, I think. The lunch bags say to use oilcloth and a plastic fabric for lining, but I'm wondering if that'll be too tough for my needles/machine. Also, I'm not sure about sewing fleece. Since it's so thick, is there a special stitch I should use? And *this is probably really dumb* do I have to put the presser foot down while sewing? Seems like it'd be easier to sew curves and such if it was up....

Yikes! I feel like such an idiot!!
:(