Friday, November 28, 2008

CAUTION!!--NOT FOR THE WEAK STOMACHS....

I HAD A ROTARY CUTTER ACCIDENT.....


Well....where do I start? A lot of you as you all might continue to read this may start to wonder and think to yourselves..."Why in the heck is she posting about this?" Well to me, knowledge is power and I am a firm believer in learning from our mistakes as well as the mistake of others.

****I am almost embarrassed to tell what happened to me. One would think that for as long as I have been sewing, I would know better, but the pain and the throbbing of my finger and the amount of time it has taken me to write these two small paragraphs so far have surpassed and washed away any slight of embarrassment I may have felt earlier.
Let me begin here......I was sewing and trying to create a lot of little items to sell for the Dec. 6th craft fair. I just finished making a traveling art case and after feeling delighted with the end results and loving how quick it was to complete, I was on my way to starting another one.

Well-- as I was cutting my main piece of fabric and using my rotary cutter to cut the pieces out as I always do- as if it was the most natural thing for me and never really had to think much or pay too much attention when cutting---well, I applied too much pressure to my ruler and during mid-cut my finger slipped off the ruler and the blade ran across the tip and nail of my middle finger...OUCH!

I didn't realize how deep it was....to much blood was oozing out......thank goodness I had my buddy Kat to call and she calmed me down and helped me figure out what to do in order to stop the bleeding...well it took forever to stop, I was so exhausted and fell asleep and forgot about the pain......when i woke in the morning.....this is what I saw:

Be thankful the picture didn't come out too clear. My top part of my nail was almost completely off and my finger swelled up quite a bit. Time to go to urgent care...so that is where my Thanksgiving morning was spent. Thankfully, nothing that can't be fixed or healed in a couple of days....here is my lovely finger on it's way to healing:


I've always heard of how dangerous the rotary cutters are, but always tossed that notion aside. I always thought I was always careful and that it would not happen to me, but boy was i wrong. So the lesson here?-- go slow when cutting with the rotary cutter, make sure hands sit in the middle of the ruler a good distance from the cutting area, and apply even pressure.

Tomorrow is Black Friday, I will be heading out to Joann's for some great deals--and guess what I will also be adding to that list?---Fon's & Porter's Safety cutting gloves.--I am unable to sew or quilt right now , and it's been tough typing this all with one hand, so I may not be posting much of anything--I can't even knit :*(

So if you in the future may wonder why the lack of posts.....this is why. Please be careful when cutting. You don't want this to happen to you. It hurts like heck.

16 comments:

SkippyMom said...

Oh Abbie, bless your heart. It looks so painful.

I have never come close to anything like that, although my rotaries scare me :(. I usually curl my fingers in while holding the ruler, as when I am chopping/slicing/dicing food with a sharp knife.

I didn't realize they had safety gloves. I am getting a pair.

Please feel better soon! Hugs.

QuiltingFitzy said...

Goodness! Good thing shopping can be done (almost) one-handed.

Please get well soon.

Unknown said...

Hey, that looks really painfull.
This year I had although an exident while I was sewing a cute Tilda bear. I tryed to sew the clothes and then it happend. My right forefinger cam unde the needle of my sewing machine. I had to go to the hospitel to get the needle out of my finger again.
So be carefull whlie sewing!

I wish you all the best.
Christiane

Carla said...

Oh my! I sure hope it gets better soon. What a terrible thing to happen. I've been thinking about those gloves for a long time.

Tara said...

Oh Abbey I feel your pain!. This year I had two accidents. Stupid ones, 1st was I big uphlestry(sp) needle went thru the thimble and straight up thru the tip of my thumb. The 2nd was with the rotary cutter and the side of my finger.
Yes it will heal but the pain is aweful. At least you can shop, wish I was at Joanns.

Beth said...

I did the same thing last December! I was busy thinking about other things while using the rotary cutter and whammo! I didn't get my nail - just my finger - but oh boy did it smart and bleed and bleed and bleed. Yeah, nothing like talking about blood and cut fingers. Hope you heal quickly! Beth

Katherine said...

*shaking head* Ewww, I can't believe you really posted a picture....I'm glad you did go to urgent care, and I hope it feels better quickly :0)

Yvette said...

UGH! I guess we all better start wearing safety gloves. This is one of the biggest fears I have, along with getting a sewing machine needle through my finger.

I hope you heal quick!

My Little Family: said...

I've done similar but not so bad as yours. I hope your finger is feeling better soon and you don't loose that fingermail tip. Take care. Vickie

Anonymous said...

Oh, I am so sorry! I've been waiting for that to happen to me. Hopefully it will heal quickly so you can get back to worry! I love seeing all of the wonderful things that you create! Hey-if you need some cheering up, stop by my blog, I'm having a giveaway!

Christina said...

YEE-OUCH! Thanks for the safety tips. : } I will definitely be more careful in the future! And I hope that your finger feels much, much better soon.

And guess what. I'm going to Joann's today too. ; )

Sew Create It - Jane said...

OUCH - That looks painful! I hope it heals up soon and you can get back to sewing and blogging...take care!

ikki said...

Nasty indeed, hope it heals quickly. Ikki

Keri said...

I had a rotary cutter accident too! Yours is the second one I've heard about recently. I hope it heals quickly!

YayaOrchid said...

Ouch! That looks so painful! Thanks for the visual reminder to be careful around rotary cutters.

I have to say, I LOVE your fabric stash! What a colorful array you have. Those fabrics would also work for a little girl apron.

carrie said...

Oh, my gosh... looking at that is like nails on a chalk board for me. Ouch! Girl, I am feeling for you. At least the art cases are too cute!

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