I remember laughing hysterically at the old Monty Python Spoofs about Arthur and the “Black Knight”
Are you this way? Some classic lines just seem to be stored in the back of the brain just sitting there, ready to be recalled when the appropriate moment arises.
Don’t ask me why “Only a Flesh Wound!!” was one of those statements laying dormant ---
But it sure came in handy!
I was sewing along, stitching border pieces together into a long length – humming, dreaming, pondering, singing along with whatever was coming up on my ipod play list, and
OH!
MY!
That heel tap feature on a Bernina machine can have dangerous side effects! And I have no reasoning to expalin why my finger was in such close proximity to the needle in the first place, but before I knew it –the needle was THROUGH my nail, and out the other side of my finger.
And I was STUCK! I couldn’t pull it --- I had to stop and think! Which is not easy to do when there is a needle doing the “through and through” through your finger!
The only way..was to use the hand wheel and raise it back up, and then slide my finger back OFF the needle.
And yes, I hate to admit it, but it's true --- I also thought "Quick! Where is the camera!" LOL! But getting my finger out of the machine took precedence over getting you an action shot ---
The biggest voice in my head yelling “DON’T BLEED ON THE QUILT!!!”
Quick! Wrap it in a paper towel! (( Did you get blood on the quilt?!?)) Get some ice! ((Did you bleed on the quilt?!?!))
Hold your hand above your head, holding pressure with the paper towel, and a baggie full of ice……do a funny dance all around the living room…(( Did you bleed on the quilt?!?))
When was your my last tetanus shot?! I’m up to date..it was a year ago. ((Did you bleed on the quilt!?))
Puncture wounds don’t bleed a lot, and I am happy to say the borders are on the quilt, but the finger is tender, of course. NO sign of infection so far --- but I’m watching it.
And no --- There was no blood on the quilt! Good thing it was "Only a Flesh Wound!!"
Be careful ya’ll! We are working with some pretty dangerous equipment! And yes, the machine got a NEW NEEDLE!
We have a ton of entries coming in on our Mystery Monday Link-Up! Be sure to stop by that post and see what everyone has been doing!
61 comments:
Ouch!!!!!
Ewww! But I'm glad your ok (and didn't bleed on your quilt)! Sounds like you missed the bone, but looking at it I don't know how! Geesh! Some one would have found me passed out over my machine, lol. I'll be ware of that heal tap function, thanks!
It probably will hurt like heck tomorrow. Mine did when I jabbed the machine needle in it. Felt like a splinter. It went away though after about 24 hours.
You handled it a whole lot better than I would have. Take care.
Ah, the joys of hand piecing!
Ouch! You are lucky you got it out on your own. When I did it, it got lodged in the bone and it took 3 shots of freezing and a pair of pliers for the doctor to pull it out in the E.R.
I don't know how you kept from panicking Bonnie. That must have hurt a lot. Especially bringing the needle back up--- I have come close a few times---but, so far the only time I ever did this was as a child on my Grandmother's treadle machine, and I didn't tell anyone I sewed through my finger as I didn't want them to forbid me to use the machine. So, I suffered silently. But, boy it hurt! I've come real close a few times on the long arm, and I know that would not only be painful, but dangerous. Take care of yourself.
Okay,,,,,
Nurse Kim here.
don't you have good health insurance?
Get it xrayed just to make sure it did not nick your bone....in which case you will need antibiotics. You can't afford to be out of commission and this can cause more pain than you can possibly imagine. I always error on the side of more caution than less.
I was afraid to open the blog entry there on the side of my blog because I knew what you had done........ouch and more ouch. Did the thread stay attached to the needle?
I fear doing this to myself!
Oh Bonnie you are so brave! I hope you heal quickly and painlessly.....please have it checked.
That. made. me. wince. 8-O
I am cringing just thinking about it!!! I stitched the side of my finger recently and like ana s. said, it hurt bad the next day. I'd take nurse Kim's advice and get it checked out.
You know that refex action that men take when someone throws something in the vicinity of their groin? I just had a similar reaction when I read your post. Made a fist, hid my index finger tight inside, and winced like crazy. eeeeeyowtch! And like the pro that you are, you did not bleed on the quilt. Still wincing.....
I quilted over my left pinkie finger with my long arm a couple of years back....3 hours in the ER just waiting and 4 stitches later we arrived back home at 2 a.m. I made 2 rules at that time...no more late night quilting....and keep both hands on the handles...no more one handled driving. AND, I did not get blood on the quilt...first I heard a noise, then I saw the scene, then I felt the pain! Just reading your new adventure made my fingers Z-I-N-G with memory!!!!!
Every quilter and seamstress that I know who has sewn through their finger has the first thought Ouch and the second: don't bleed on it!!! I know that it hurt like heck- when I did this- the needle broke in my finger and I couldn't get the thing out. I called for my husband to bring me a hemostat(I'm a nurse) and of course Mr. Curiosity wanted to know why. I was less than sweet when I told him WHY I wanted it RIGHT NOW!!! Remember Motrin and hot soaks are your friend! Joy in AK
I hope you are alright and that all continues to heal properly. You are very brave.
Oh, sound horrible! So sorry!
OH OUCH!!! I've done that exact same thing, except the needle broke off in my finger, still threaded. That was how I met my daughters, at that time, future father-in-law. He was here to pick up Matt, and Matt went out to the car and asked him to come in and pull the needle out of my finger with a pair of, appropriately named, needle nose pliers. LOL!!
Thank you, Nurse Kim. Dr. Pam here to urge to at least contact your physician or other healthcare provider to discuss this injury with them. You may not need to do anything further, but I would recommend that you contact them and at least advise them of the injury and be certain that nothing further be done. My sister had a similar injury many years ago. It still makes me shiver to think about it.
Bonnie, I don't know if anyone told you this, but you should soak that finger in hydrogen peroxide and you should see a doctor within 24 hours. I know hydrogen peroxide is no longer the standard in the medical industry, but deep puncture wounds like that will get infected easily!
When DH was little his mother warned him to stay away from the sewing machine "because you'll sew through your thumb!" Six and a half decades later he keeps his distance from my sewing machine.....that's one mom-ism that is deeply ingrained!
Ouch! I agree that it wouldn't hurt to see a doctor and get on an antibiotic.
I did that to my little brothers finger when I was leetle, and I think I might have gotten a spankin..
We are all pitiful when it comes to our quilts! Recently Dh took a nosedive and hit the kitchen counter really HARD and my second thought was how ere the EMTs going to traipse through the living room with my blocks on my design floor! Id have to route them another way - and oh yes, how is DH? Shame on me. LOL
I take it you did NOT bleed on your quilt.
You have my sympathies. Been there, done that. Only my needle broke into about 3 pieces with the tip going all the way though my finger. I had to have dh pull it out.....I found Crown Royal & ginger ale helped....
My sewing teacher in England (a very large German Woman) used to walk around the classroom with a yardstick in her hand and whack anyone she saw with their fingers near the needle. Now i know why ( not that i am condoning corporal punishment in the classroom).
As soon as i saw the heading in my reader i just knew what you had done and I winced and said "Ouch" even before i opened up. Hope it heals well.
OMG Bonnie, how in the world did this happen...did have the pedal to the metal while sewing? UG!!!! Please be more careful as we ALL need you!
Too funny! I can say that because I did the same thing when I was about 17. Except I ran through the house yelling, "Mom, I sewed my finger!" To which she told me to stop playing around she didn't have time for that. Funny stuff.
Hey dear - I want to second the "see the doc" voice - it's in the end of your finger - where blood supply is limited, and if it gets infected, antibiotics have trouble treating it... the doc might want you on antibiotics BEFORE there is a sign of infection... poor baby...
So glad there's not blood on the quilt -- and that you're okay!
Bless you're heart. Whew, Bonnie...do what Nurse Kim up there said and get it checked, just to be sure (and safe)!!! :)
Seems like it is not such an uncommon accident as you would imagine. I think it only happens once, though. Yes, I have done it too. Unimaginable pain, but no further issues. I am glad the quilt wasn't damaged and you are still in one piece. Perhaps you could put "stab-stitching" somewhere on its label.
Poor Baby. Those Berninas are powerful machines! Glad you were able to laugh about it but do keep an eye on that injury for any signs of infection!
Once I hit my own finger at work...stupid mistake. My nail turned black and it was swelling up so fast. At that time we had a doctor on site all the time. He took a paperclip...heated it up with a lighter and began to drill my nail. Luckily for me it burst from his finger pressure BEFORE he pierced my nail.
I did the same thing you did back eons ago. It hurt so bad and I had to handcrank the needle up from my thumbnail.
Poor Bonnie.
XOXOXO Subee
OUCH!!! I would have fainted! Take care 'cause we need you! Thank goodness you didn't bleed on the quilt, otherwise you would have needed an awful lot of spit to remove it! LOL!!
Luckier than you, I saw my finger so very close to the HQ needle that I stopped and had some thoughts about keeping my hand a little further away. That is very scarey.
Oh....OUCH!!!! Glad it was only a flesh wound and you didn't bleed on the quilt. lol
Oh, Bonnie - been there - done that - OUCH!! I was changing to my free-motion foot one time (to show my sister-in-law) when my foot just barely touched the pedal and the needle went into my thumb. My brain said, "That ain't right!" while my sister-in-law - bless her heart - hollered at me to "STOP!" I managed to get my foot off the pedal and she hand-turned the wheel to get the needle back up while I was still trying to process what had happened!! ;)) It was sore for a while - but no infection. Hope yours heals just as quickly and does not get infected!! WE NEED YOU!!
Bonnie, I did that when I was in the 7th grade and trying to make a period costume and I stuck myself --I was sewing so much skirt that I didnt realize my finger was under the needle....I KNOW how that must have felt for you! I was in class and I tried to tough it out and it didnt work! of course, I made a mess of the skirt, but it all washed out!
I used that comment with my DH just last week, he managed to cut off his thumb and half of three of his fingers with a saw ( yes, you did read that right).
Do instead of sewing part three of the mystery we are in the city waiting to see if the reattachment surgery of 11 hours has worked...so far so good.
I have to say that going back to the garage to collect the missing pieces was one of the most gruesome things I have so far experienced!
It gives a whole new slant on " hand piecing " as well .
Hope you fingers heals very well Bonnie
I was going to go sew for a while, but now I feel a bit nervous about that needle.
Bonnie, hope all heals well. And fast, because I know you can not stop sewing. :)
Oh my! That looks so painful. Hope it heals quickly.
OUCH!!!! Beware of the needle! This wound requires CHOCOLATE, and lots of it.
Thank goodness you're alright! Did you know that if you get blood on a project, you can usually remove it by wetting a ball of cotton thread with your own spit and blotting the blood with that? That is, if there isn't a large spot of blood. Sure worth a try anyway.
Oh Bonnie! OUCH! Unfortunately... been there done that... only in my case the needle shattered into 7 little bitty pieces and in an attempt to save me from removing the nail !!! the ER doc spent 4 xrays and 4 hours carefully numbing, lifting and digging under the nail to get them all out! Our machines have no mercy! I'm glad yo were able to turn the needle out yourself. The finger was tender for a while and it took some time for the nail hole to grow above the fingertip so I could snip it and remove all traces of damage. I too had no blood on the quilt. :<}
I do think I may have caught my finger once, must have been a long time ago, and I'm not sure that bad. But it's funny how some things are more important than the pain.
bonnie I did this while sewing binding on a customer's quilt where I work at my LQS. And I had the same panicky thought: "Don't bleed on the quilt!" I didn't. But I did have to get a tetanus shot. That was adding insult to injury!
Auch, I know, it hurts... I did it once myself and indeed, thought of checking the tetanus first, since I was pregnant...
Hope no infection will occur and you will be back to sewing in no time ;-)
I have done it too. Many years ago I was a demonstrator for a well known machine manufacturer. I was demoing a machine to a lady when she asked me a question and momentarily distracted me, next thing whoops the needle was through the side of my index finger on my left hand.
I managed to get the needle out of the machine and slide it out of my finger, next thing, I heard a whomp and the customer had fainted!! Me I was fine.......she did buy the machine eventually!!
Big ouch and YES you need to see the dr. WE all need our fingers. When first learning to quilt I severed a tendon in my right hand finger and the thing was flopping all over the place and I went to the emergency room. They scheduled surgery and you should have seen the look on the physician when I asked if I could please take my quilt class the next day...MY FIRST QUILT CLASS. He accomodated the crazy lady and I scared the quilt teacher to death..that floppy finger might get in the way of a needle or something. Loved the quilt day, hated the surgery repair. Healthy respect for the rotary cutter now. Get better soon
Oh my Word!! I just shiver at the thought of how painful that must have been. No worry here about bleeding on the quilt...Because I would have fainted!
Owie, owie, owie! I can't even imagine how you stayed so calm. I hope I never do this, because I'm not sure I'll be able to handle it! I will be watching my fingers closely....
I am all for creating memories as we go along, but really, Bonnie. You have made a very big "mystery" memory - poor baby - you took one for the group. Hope it heals quickly.
Husband sliced his index finger last week and I did not think it would ever stop bleeding - neither did the ER. Take better care of yourself. Judy C
oh Bonnie, I sure know how you feel - I've done this 3 times... I'll never learn! On the treadle, my aunt's Singer, and the long arm, even... how did you manage not to panic and jerk your finger away?
I second the soak in peroxide - and also a soak in the hottest water you can stand + Epsom salts will with the pain.
OMG, that is my greatest fear. I'm not nearly as afraid of my rotary cutter as my needle. Many years ago, I saw a movie set in a shirtwaist sweatshop and a lady sewed through her fingernail and the machine lodged and they worked it and worked it, trying to back it out and I don't remember how it ended, just that it instilled a life long fear of exactly what you did. Sorry and I hope it heals lickety split. lw
Watch this one like a hawk and keep it scrupulously clean, puncture wounds like this one are the WORST for infections. Speedy healing wishes are headed in your direction~
Hi Bonnie - it's really horrible when stitching through ones' finger. I recall that it doesn't bleed while the needle is still down - it's when you have the needle out that it starts. Did you know that a smallish spot of fresh blood is instantly removed by spitting on it and rubbing the fabric. Don't of course, suck your bleeding finger first, or you'll have bloody spit to add to the stain!
Margaret
I did that once -- over 30 years ago, sewing curtains. OUCH! Glad your finger's been brave and strong throughout!
Oh My Gosh! I did that one year when making Easter treats for the kids class party. Was sewing little felt bunnies for lollipop covers. I just remember it hurting and the hubby telling me he knew I would do it sometime! lol
You made me laugh with your comment about wondering where the camera was... :) Glad your okay!
*hugs*
Debbie K
Years ago I worked in a sewing factory making down coats and sleeping bags, I was rushing to get something done so I could get paid for it at the end of the day and got my finger in the compound machine, feeder dogs and the foot itself pulled fabric through the machine, broke the needle in about three pieces, but since it was the second time in 6 months that I had sewed my finger, I only wanted a band aid and to get back to work to finish my item!
Hate to admit it....but been there done that. Hope your finger continues to improve.
ow ow ow ow ow
did you bleed on the kwilt?
I hope not :-)
Ouch. When was your last Tetanus shot??
Ouch Bonnie,
I did that to my finger when I worked in a sewing factory, I used the big high power machine, I had to go to the Doctor and get a shot and the needle removed .....
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