That looks great and woohoo for a new sewing machine!!  I don't understand why you would refuse the urge to tell people you made it yourself.  I would be shouting it from the rooftops! 

Oh man! It's great!  I neeeed one of these!

soo cute!  I love the chenille!

I love the colors!  Great job!

It looks great, and you make it sound so easy!  I wish I had the clothes-making talent!

I love it!  and the colors look great together!

That's beautiful!  Is that wallpaper?  I saw something in a magazine like that yesterday.  You did a great job!

That is amazing!!

I have a couple of T-shirts I want to re-con into hoodies but I'm so nervous I'll screw them up!  Great job! 

Turning away from Christ:  I feel the same way! Just the other day I was thinking about what I would use as a secret if I joined this swap, and that's exactly what I thought!  It's unfortunate that people tend to notice the negative people and completely rule out Christianity or church as a whole.