Welcome aboard, glad you have joined in on the fun here! I hope you get your machine up and running, I used a somewhat similar machine for most of the last 30 years, mine is a Remington. I know you are still searching for a name for yours. Good sturdy machines, very good for most sewing tasks.
Curtains can be a great learning project but you also learn that there are skills in dealing with large pieces of fabric, even if "all" you are doing is straight seams, that straight consistent seam is a big part of future success. Many of us are self-taught and you can learn that way yourself, but now with the internet and videos all all the lessons learned the hard way by us before you, this is a great time to learn to sew and take advantage of the knowledge out there. If I can help someone not take 20 years to figure out the basics (like it took me) then I think that's a good thing!